Tutor
by Nightglider124
Summary: AU. When Richard Grayson is told he must get his grades up in maths to avoid getting kicked off the soccer team, he is handed over to top student, Kori Anders by his teacher. However, he doesn't prepare for the feelings that come with having her as his tutor. R&R Please!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Teen Titans.

 **Author's Note:** Wow, this is probably like one of the most cliché plots I've ever written but I like to think of it as golden plot. It's just so 80's teenage love story or something XD Anyways, originally written in **2014**.

* * *

The ear splitting sound of the alarm clock had been disrupting the peace and quiet of the early morning for roughly an hour now. The dark haired boy beneath the mess of sheets on the bed barely even stirred at the noise. He was in such a deep slumber; he was practically dead to the world.

Suddenly, the boy woke with a start and his eyes slowly opened. He squinted as he tried to adjust to the morning light that was pouring in through his bedroom window. He couldn't even begin to think as the constant ringing of his alarm was making his head pound.

With a growl, he slammed his hand down on his alarm clock, knocking it off his bedside table in the process. He groaned. _'I knew should have skipped the jelly shots.'_ he thought, grimacing at the memory of the previous night.

Richard Grayson was the type of guy to do things such as this. He would party on a school night and put the consequences of the following day completely out of his mind. He was in the type of clique that would typically be labelled as 'Popular' which matched up well with him considering he had a millionaire as a father and was attractive enough to have girls drool over him.

His eyes widened all of a sudden as realisation hit him. He fumbled for his phone and glanced at the time. It read: **8:00am**. As homeroom was starting, he was yet to move from his bed. Great.

"Shit!" He cursed, grasping the fact that he was late for school... Yet again.

He frantically threw back the covers and got to his feet. Dick proceeded to grab a random outfit from his wardrobe and he yanked all of the articles of clothing onto his body. He slipped his feet into his shoes whilst he fixed his hair in the mirror.

Finally, he grabbed his bag and shrugged it onto his right shoulder. He sprinted down the stairs and through the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water and an apple from the bowl on the counter. He nodded to his butler who was also a long-time family friend.

"Master Dick-" Alfred was cut off by a wave of Dick's hand as he headed out the door,

"Sorry Al! I gotta run!" He informed him, slamming the door behind him as he finally left the building.

Alfred rolled his eyes and waited for Dick to return. The ebony haired boy soon fulfilled that prediction and hurried back inside, frantically turning every which way as if he was searching for something. Alfred cleared his throat and held up Dick's car keys.

Dick sheepishly grinned and took them from him, "Heh... Thanks..."

With that, he rushed out again and got into his car, preparing himself for the drive to school.

Dick groaned as he arrived outside the door that led into homeroom. He peeked through the small window of the door and noticed that his teacher had his head in a newspaper.

Sensing his chance, Dick slowly and silently pushed the handle down and slipped into the room. He bit his lip in concentration as he tried to tiptoe to his seat. He was halfway there when he froze on the spot,

"Mr Grayson, we can all see that you're late. Just get to your seat." The teacher said behind the paper he was reading from.

Dick grinned sheepishly and gave his teacher a two finger salute, "Right," He stated, sliding into his seat. He turned to his two best friends who were cracking up at Dick being busted once again. They had only just returned from a short break and yet Dick was already carrying on his daily routine that he swore by before the break.

"Mornin' sunshine!" Vic chuckled, noting the lack of colour in Dick's face,

Dick glared at him, "I never wanna go to a party on a school night ever again," He grunted, leaning on his elbow, sleepily.

"I'd call it a successful night for you, including that girl you got with." Vic commented,

Dick smirked and shook his head at Vic,

"Who was it?" Wally wondered,

Dick concentrated but soon gave up, "I have no idea... I can't remember her name." He sighed,

Wally laughed, "Successful indeed,"

Dick smiled, "Mm... I just wish I didn't wake up with an insane headache."

Suddenly, the bell sounded and Dick cringed and covered his ears, "Now _that_ is going to piss me off today." He murmured.

The three boys collected their things and threw their bags onto their shoulders. They slowly filed out of the room with the rest of the students in tow. Each and every one of them was headed for their first lesson of the day and approximately none of them had very happy expressions upon their faces.

"I bet having maths first really perks you up, huh Dick?" Vic said, sarcastically.

Dick rubbed a hand over his face and groaned. He hated maths. Actually, 'hated' was an understatement. He physically detested maths. He would much rather sit and stare at paint drying on a wall than do any maths work. Alongside that, his teacher had made it very clear at the end of the last lesson before break that he was failing maths. She had instructed him to study specific areas of maths in the two weeks but... that just didn't happen. He didn't really remember why he had to study. There was definitely a reason for studying but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He was so indulged in his own thoughts that he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking. He bumped into a girl who was a lot smaller than he was and a lot more petite. They both stumbled back a little but the girl groaned as her books fell to the floor. He couldn't see her face at all because she had her head down but he noticed that her hair was dark red and really long, too. He immediately felt guilty,

"I'm really sorry..." Dick apologized, watching her as she crouched down to retrieve her books.

"It is fine..." She replied. Dick didn't recognise her voice so it was apparent that he didn't know her. Her voice sounded quiet but sweet.

"Here, let me help you." Dick stated, crouching to the floor. He picked up a red book which had 'Chemistry' written on it and noticed another on the floor that had 'Algebra' printed on the front. His first thoughts were ' _Geek_ ' but he decided that he didn't know her so he couldn't exactly judge her.

The girl stood up before him so Dick grabbed the remaining books off the floor and stood up too. He slowly handed them to her and was about to look at her face until he felt someone slap his shoulder.

Dick turned away from the girl and grinned at his friend Garth. They high fived each other and Garth shook his head,

"Awesome party last night, right Grayson?" He boomed, reminiscence filling his voice.

"Yeah, man. Feeling rough today though," Dick chuckled. Garth laughed along with him but exhaled noisily,

"Ahh, later man. I'll see you at lunch." He told him, walking off towards his own class.

Dick smirked and shook his head. He remembered the red headed girl and turned back towards her but she was gone. He raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off, feeling that he would probably never see her again due to the overwhelming amount of students within the school. Though he kind of wanted to see her face; just out of curiosity.

He sighed and trudged into the classroom and took a seat at the very back. He didn't care where he sat in any other class but maths; sitting at the back was a necessity. The last thing he wanted was to be forced into participation of the tasks given by the teacher.

"So, welcome back class. I hope you all had a wonderful break." Mrs Bliss said, loudly. Dick closed his eyes and chewed on the end of his pen in an attempt to tune her voice out.

"And what better way to start your first week back than with a test?" She continued.

Dick's eyes opened immediately and the pen fell from his mouth. He remained silent as the rest of the class moaned and complained at the idea of a test first thing in the morning.

"I trust you all studied, like I asked you to." She assumed, eyeing Dick for a moment who ducked his head. He nodded to himself, _'That's what I had to study for... Oops.'_ he thought.

The blonde haired teacher made her way around the desks, handing out paper and question booklets as she moved. She arrived at Dick's desk and placed his question booklet and paper down a little forcefully. Dick meekly looked up at her,

"I expect you to get an A on this test, Mr Grayson," She admitted, staring at him in an intimidating manner.

Dick laughed nervously as she wandered away. Wally screwed up a ball of paper and chucked it at the back of his head, "Pst!" He hissed, causing Dick to turn around.

"What?" Dick replied,

"What was that all about?"

"Uh... No idea... I think she's losing it."

Wally nodded and chuckled. He shook his head and returned his focus to the questions in the booklet. Dick gulped and started at the front of the booklet. This was not going to go well.

The silence in the classroom was literally killing Dick. When no one was talking in the class, it made him feel uncomfortable and he always had a feeling that people were done _way_ before he was.

It had been 30 minutes into the test and Dick had only done 4 questions and he still had 26 to go. He sighed and his shoulders slumped.

He suddenly heard someone get up and walk to the front of the class.

"Miss Anders... Flawless as always." Mrs Bliss praised her.

Dick furrowed his eyebrows. _'How could someone be done already!?'_ He mentally complained. He didn't look up at the girl who had been 'flawless' in the maths test because he knew it would just make him even angrier at himself for being so terrible at maths. Although, he silently hated on the Anders girl. He couldn't remember her first name although he really should have known it considering she had been in his maths class for the past two years... Or was she? Dick wasn't very sure. She was forever being praised but usually, Dick was so out of tune with the class that all he picked up out of it was 'Anders'.

Dick shook his head and narrowed his eyes at the questions in front of him. It was hopeless. He figured that he was never going to get better at maths.

Suddenly, Dick got an idea. He shifted his eyes from left to right to check that his teacher wasn't staring at him or anything.

 _'I bet the answers for these are online...'_ He thought.

Throwing caution to the wind, Dick secretly got his phone out of his pocket and began tapping away at the screen. He had just about made it onto Google when he heard,

"Richard Grayson!" Mrs Bliss barked, causing almost everyone to turn and look at him.

Dick fumbled with his phone and almost dropped it as her voice made his heart skip a beat with momentary fear. He really didn't expect to be caught that quickly.

Mrs Bliss stormed over to his desk and snatched his material away from him. She furrowed her eyebrows with anger and placed her fists on her hips, "Stay behind at the end of the lesson to deal with the consequences of your actions, Dick." She ordered, before turning and marching back to her own desk.

Dick visibly sank into his chair, not quite missing Vic as he shook his head at him before mouthing, "Busted," at him. Dick closed his eyes tightly and groaned. This was going to be a _long_ day...


	2. Chapter 2

Dick opened his eyes and watched his fellow classmates walk out of the classroom to either suffer in their next class or enjoy a free period. He sighed and decided to get up. He got to his feet and sat upon his desk, awaiting the lecture that was sure to come from his teacher.

He noticed the last person to leave. Usually, he didn't care but he realised that the girl he had bumped into on the way into class was in his maths class. He knew this by noting her long dark red hair. He craned his neck to try and see her face but Mrs Bliss cleared her throat which ripped his attention away from the mystery girl.

"Mr Grayson, I will not tolerate cheating in my class." She told him,

"Please, Miss. You can't tell Principal Wilson," Dick replied, shaking his head at the fear of his actions affecting his placement on the soccer team. He was captain after all; that wouldn't look good.

"I'm afraid I have to. Cheating is a serious thing, Dick."

"But I'll get kicked off the team for it!"

"I'm sorry but Mr Wilson is expecting you soon. You should go."

"Ugh this is such bull-"

"I suggest you don't finish that word, Dick."

Dick paused and held his tongue. With a groan, he grabbed his bag and shrugged it onto his shoulder. Mrs Bliss shook her head as Dick stormed out, muttering under his breath.

Dick sighed before knocking lightly on the principal's door. He heard a faint "Come in" so he entered, closing the door behind him.

Mr Wilson was a middle-aged man with white hair and a black eye patch over his right eye. It was weird but Dick remembered a rumour in his first year at the school of Mr Wilson being a pirate. It was a funny thought for someone with enough imagination.

Dick took a seat in front of Mr Wilson's desk and was reluctant to look at him. He always hated going to his office.

Mr Wilson sat forward in his leather chair and sighed whilst he placed his hands on his desk, "Well... I can't say it's nice to see you again, Mr Grayson. You've been in here more times than I can remember." He admitted,

"I just-" Dick was cut off by his principal, who raised a hand,

"Ah... I'll make you a deal, Grayson."

"I'm listening..."

"I'm going to give you one chance. I expect you to raise your grade to a C in maths when you take the test at the end of the semester. That gives you roughly three weeks to get it together."

"So..."

"I won't have you kicked off the soccer team and stripped of your captain title... As long as you pass the end of semester test."

Dick breathed a sigh of utter relief, "Thank you!" He huffed, feeling a little more relaxed.

Mr Wilson nodded as a response,

"But wait... I can't get a C! How am I supposed to reach a grade like that in three weeks!?"

The principal rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment, "It's doable, Dick. I advise you to study as much as you party. That way, you'll be a genius."

Dick rolled his eyes at his principal's assumptions of his life.

"And... I'll talk to Mrs Bliss to see if there's anything more you can do to get your grade up."

Dick nodded but thought for a moment, "Uh... Sir? Could you... Not tell my father please? I... I really would rather him not know."

Mr Wilson considered Dick's request and responded with a small nod of his head.

"Thank you." Dick replied, standing up. He knew his queue to leave after the many conversations he had had with the principal. He grabbed his bag off the floor and pulled it onto his shoulder before walking out.

The dainty girl wandered over to her locker and typed in the code. She sighed and looked up at the clock. The day wasn't moving quickly enough.

Kori Anders was a bright girl but she was still a teenager and like the majority of teenagers; she hated school. She felt that Mondays especially tended to drag on. Although, now it was lunch and she was free to do whatever she wanted for an hour.

She held her locker door open and placed the books that she no longer needed inside. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Dick Grayson marching towards the cafeteria, muttering presumably curses under his breath.

As he walked through the double doors, Kori rolled her eyes. She would never understand him. He was basically all that Kori hated about the students at her school. Seriously, how hard was it to study?

She figured that he would never amount to much considering he didn't even care about his future; if he did, he wouldn't cheat on minor tests. For a moment, she wondered if she had more anger for him today for bumping into her outside of maths. That was one thing that Kori could not stand about him. He was oblivious of other people; wrapped up in his own little world.

Kori sighed and closed her locker door. She turned and wandered into the cafeteria. As she was somewhat shy, it was always a moment of anxiety trying to locate her two best friends. There were tons of students who attended the school and they were all detained within this room at this time.

It was over whelming to say the least. Kori suddenly saw one of her friends waving to her from a table in the corner. She smiled and made her way over to the table.

Rachel Roth and Garfield Logan were Kori's two best friends. They had all been friends since they were kids. When Kori had moved over from Tameran, it was hard for her to fit in yet Garfield and Rachel made it easier somehow.

Garfield and Rachel were also an item. Kori fully supported their relationship even if it wasn't very public. Rachel was very private and didn't like showing the world such personal things. Garfield on the other hand would shout it from the rooftops if Rachel gave him permission.

Kori took a seat and sighed, "Hello friends," She greeted, grabbing an apple from her bag.

"Sup Kor!" Garfield said, enthusiastically.

"Hey," Rachel stated in a monotone. She was a very dark type of person although, Kori had seen her many times when her walls came crashing down around her. Kori knew that she wasn't the ice queen that people believed her to be.

"What's with the sigh?" Garfield asked, scoffing a handful of gummy worms into his mouth. He picked out a green one and passed it to Rachel as he spoke, knowing they were her favourites. She blushed but accepted the sweet piece of candy.

"There is no reason... Today simply seems to be taking forever to end." Kori explained, taking a bite out of her fruit,

"Isn't everyday like that?" Rachel asked,

"You're so positive, Rae." Garfield commented, sarcastically. Kori laughed and relaxed during her free time whilst she still had it.

Kori sprinted up the stairs when she arrived home and dropped her bag on the floor before flopping face down onto her bed. She exhaled noisily and felt herself begin to get sleepy. She closed her eyes and nearly slipped into a slumber,

"Korina! Do not forget! You have work in half an hour!" Kori's mother shouted up the stairs.

Kori's eyes shot open and she groaned loudly before grabbing her pillow and throwing it at her door.

Kori stumbled a little as she practically sprinted down the street so that she wasn't late for work. Being late meant being docked slightly in her wages and she couldn't afford that. The only reason that Kori was working at a small diner on the corner of the street was to earn money to fix her car.

She was relieved as the diner was in her sights. She wobbled slightly as she burst through the doors of the diner and leaned against the counter. Rachel's eyes widened and she walked over to Kori. She placed her notepad in her apron and placed a hand on Kori's shoulder,

"Everything okay...?" Rachel asked, slowly,

"Am I... Late?" Kori huffed, trying hard to get oxygen back into her system,

"Mm... No, you're right on time actually,"

"Then... Everything is... Okay..."

"You really need to get your car fixed, Kori. You can't keep running to work. You'll give yourself cardiac arrest."

Rachel turned away for a moment and turned back with a bottle of water for Kori. She twisted the cap and gulped the whole contents down. Her breathing calmed a little and the redness in her cheeks began to fade. She tied her hair up and smiled at Rachel,

"Why do you think I got the job in the first place?" Kori stated,

"This place doesn't pay enough for me to get a new book so good luck trying to get enough to fix your car," Rachel whispered,

Kori giggled and grabbed her white apron off of the peg and tied it around her tiny waist. She felt Rachel staring at her,

"What?" Kori queried,

"You aren't wearing your glasses," Rachel returned,

"You know... I do not need them all of the time,"

"I know but it's weird to see you without them,"

Kori smiled and shook her head at her friend. Rachel glanced past the red headed girl and noticed a familiar group entering the diner. She groaned,

"Heads up... Populars just walked in," She informed Kori,

"Oh no... Not-"

"Not it!"

Kori snapped her fingers, "Ugh... Why are they here?"

"Well... This place serves food so my guess is that they're hungry..."

Kori narrowed her eyes playfully at Rachel and picked up her notepad and fixed the pencil behind her ear. She threw a glance in the direction of where the 'populars' were sitting.

"Should I go over yet?" Kori wondered, tapping her fingers against the counter,

"I would unless you want them to start doing that annoying clicky thing." Rachel explained,

Kori closed her eyes briefly and inhaled a breath, "Okay," She told herself,

She wandered over to their table and actually felt quite happy about who was sitting there. Kori had to admit, there were two sides to the popular kids at school. There were the bitchy, mean kids such as Kitten Moth who thankfully wasn't with them. Kitten was your typical princess who demanded everything she wanted because her father was too spineless to teach her the word 'no'. However, there were also the few popular kids who were generally nice to people; they weren't rude for no reason or because they thought they were better than everyone else.

Kori noticed their faces. There was Wally West, Victor Stone, Karen Beecher, Jenny Ashbrook and Dick Grayson. Aside from Dick, Kori didn't mind the others. They were... Dare she say it... Nice. Kori wondered if she was a little harsh on the dark haired boy in the corner. He was nice enough... He was genuinely sorry for bumping into her that morning but sometimes... He just seemed like a spoilt brat.

They all glanced up from their menus, minus Dick who was still scanning over the choices,

"Good evening. My name is Kori and I shall be your server. Are you all ready to order?" She asked, politely,

"Think so, little lady." Vic agreed. Kori quirked a small smile. They were _definitely_ the nicer popular kids.

They each told Kori what they wanted and she scribbled it all down while they spoke. Finally, it was Dick's turn to order. Kori felt heat rise to her cheeks a little as Dick bit his lip in consideration.

Kori was conflicted on her opinion of Dick. Yes, she thought he was nice sometimes but he seemed stuck up the majority of the time. She wasn't like every other girl; she didn't get weak at the knees when she saw him but she couldn't deny that he was attractive. Dark hair, blue eyes and an athletic body... Yeah, Kori definitely couldn't deny that he was good looking.

"Mm... Can I have a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a Pepsi, please?" Dick asked, keeping his eyes on his phone as he spoke. Small things like that were things that made Kori change her opinion on him so quickly.

She wrote it down and nodded to them before wandering back over to the counter. She gave the order to Rachel who turned and passed it on to the cook. Kori sighed,

"That bad, huh?" Rachel quizzed, wiping the counter down,

"Actually, they are not the worst popular kids..."

"Ah... You got the nice ones, huh?"

Kori nodded and waited with Rachel until the cook suddenly rang the bell,

"Order up, Kori!" He called, earning a nod from Kori.

She grabbed the five plates and balanced them in her arms and ambled back over to the popular kids. She smiled at them and placed the plates down in front of them, accordingly.

"How do you even do that?" Karen asked her,

Kori shifted her eyes, "Do what?" She asked, smiling nervously,

"Balance the plates!" Jenny exclaimed, "I can barely balance when I'm just walking,"

Kori giggled slightly, "It is not too difficult when you have been doing it for a while..."

"Are you kidding? Jen could work here for like 10 years and would still end up dropping plates!" Wally chuckled, earning a playful shove from the pink haired girl. At this point, Dick had stopped looking at his phone and casually glanced up at the waitress who was serving them. He stared for a little longer and couldn't help but notice that she was _really_ pretty. Her skin was flawless while her jade eyes held a cheerful glow to them. He recognised her dark red hair but for the life of him, he couldn't remember where from.

Kori placed her slender fingers against her lips and giggled, "I shall be right back with your drinks."

Kori turned away and wandered over to get the drinks from Rachel who had made them and placed them on the tray, ready for Kori to take.

She returned almost immediately and gave them their desired drinks. She returned to Rachel with the tray under her arm.

Jenny smiled at the others, "She's sweet," She commented,

"She seems like she's a quiet type of girl though, huh?" Wally added,

"Mm... What'd you think of her Dick?" Vic asked,

"Of who?" Dick asked, his mind elsewhere,

"The waitress who's serving us," Vic answered,

"Oh... Yeah, she seems nice. She's kinda pretty too... She seems familiar..." Dick trailed off,

"Well she should be familiar. She goes to our school..." Karen told him,

"Dude, she's in our maths class," Wally explained,

"She is?"

"The girl who always gets questions right and finishes tests way before everyone else?"

"Oh... I didn't realise."

"That's because you're in your own little world, my friend,"

Dick rolled his eyes. He hadn't told them about the maths problem he was facing. Dick was very conscious of his reputation with people so he had a feeling he would be judged if he told them that he was failing maths and was in danger of being kicked off the team if he didn't turn it around.

Kori noticed that the popular kids had finished their meals so she made her way over to them for the last time.

"Is there anything else you would like?" Kori questioned, politely,

"Just the bill please, Kori," Wally answered. Kori favoured them with a smile whilst being a little shocked that he remembered her name.

Kori nodded and handed them the bill which printed from the small portable machine that she had to keep in her apron. While they all figured out which ways to split it, Kori collected up the plates.

They placed the money on the small dish that was kept on the tables for such things, "Thank you," Kori stated as she stacked the plates up.

She placed her hand on the dish and was about to take it but Karen placed a hand on hers,

"Is there something wrong?" Kori asked, staring at her,

"Wait, girl. We gotta tip you,"

"Oh, you do not have-"

"Are you kidding? We could have got a really rude server or something but we didn't. We got a bubbly one instead."

Kori smiled at her comment and watched as they all placed $20 on the table for her tip. Vic collected all of their contributions and handed it to Kori, "Here you go, red," he said, grabbing his jacket and standing up.

Kori realised that they had tipped her $100 and almost fainted. They all began to move and file out of the booth. Kori shook her head and returned to reality,

"Uh..." Kori stammered,

Dick was putting his black jacket on and glanced at her, "Everything alright?" He checked,

"Your tip together was $100... Surely that is too much..."

Dick smiled, "Nah... Like Karen said... You're a really good waitress."

Kori blushed slightly and nodded, "Well... Thank you very much,"

Dick smirked, "No worries," He replied before leaving the diner with the others.

Kori turned to Rachel who had wandered over to help her with the plates and glasses,

"Did you get a tip?" She asked,

"Oh... I received a tip..." Kori breathed,

"That good, huh?"

"$100"

"What!? No way! I knew I should have served them,"

Kori giggled and shook her head, "Come on," She prompted, nodding her head towards the kitchen. Kori smiled. This was probably the best shift she had ever worked...


	3. Chapter 3

Kori watched the leaves outside as they were continuously picked up and dropped again by the wind. She sighed. She enjoyed maths but the lesson was moving at a seriously slow pace today.

While Mrs Bliss droned on about equations, Kori glanced over at two idiots that were giggling like children. She frowned at Wally and Dick who were laughing and trying to balance their pencils on their upper lips.

She shook her head and felt a pang of relief as the bell chimed, signalling lunch. She always seemed to take longer when packing away her things than the rest of her classmates. It was probably because she actually came prepared and had all of the material out on her desk from start to finish.

Dick finished packing everything up and attempted to sneak out of the door amongst the crowd but he inevitably failed,

"Mr Grayson. Can I talk with you for a moment?" Mrs Bliss called, causing Dick to step to the side so that he was in front of her desk.

"So, Principal Wilson talked to me." She paused, "I have tried thinking of some study methods for you to try but I feel that you will not benefit from a lot of them..."

"Ookay..." Dick prompted,

"So... I think you should find yourself a tutor, Dick."

"A tutor!?"

Kori couldn't help but eavesdrop a little as she finished placing her books in her bag. She was shocked. She had an idea that he was doing quite badly in maths but she didn't expect him to be in need of a tutor.

She felt a wave of concern wash over her. Mrs Bliss knew that Kori was getting the highest grades in the class so there was no doubt that she would try and encourage Kori to help him in some way.

"Yes. They are very helpful for students who are struggling with Mathematics."

"But... That makes me look like a _complete_ idiot!"

Kori slowly placed her bag on her shoulder and tiptoed around the edge of the classroom to somehow make herself invisible to her teacher. She was almost out of the room.

"You just need to find someone who is good at maths and who would be willing to teach you," Mrs Bliss informed him, suddenly spotting Kori, "In fact... Kori?"

Kori was literally in the doorway when she heard Mrs Bliss call her name. She cringed and sighed. She slowly turned back around to face her.

Dick glanced up at her and Kori suddenly felt self conscious. She brushed some of her hair behind her ear and walked up to the teacher's desk.

Kori felt her cheeks heat up as she was acutely aware that Dick was still staring at her. He clicked his fingers suddenly, "Hey, you're the waitress from that diner," He pointed out, earning a nod from Kori.

"Kori... How would you feel about tutoring Mr Grayson, here?" Mrs Bliss quizzed,

"Uh..." Kori stuttered, not knowing how to respond,

"You want someone from my class to tutor me?" Dick retorted, crossing his arms over his chest,

"You need the help, Dick," Mrs Bliss shot back,

Kori felt that it would be a bad idea. Sure, she was good at maths but she didn't know if she would have the patience to teach someone like Dick.

"I... I do not think so..." Kori stammered,

"See? Even she doesn't wanna tutor me." Dick groaned,

Mrs Bliss ignored him and focused on Kori, "Please Kori? It would help a lot and it would give you a lot of credit for your college applications,"

Kori tilted her head from side to side in consideration of the request. Dick stared into her eyes for a moment which made Kori feel slightly nervous,

"Please? I'll even pay you!" Dick pleaded, clasping his hands together. Kori bit her lip and went to speak but Dick beat her to it, "Please... Uh... Kori?"

Kori sighed and began to feel genuinely sorry for him, "I will think about it." She vowed,

Mrs Bliss grinned and clapped her hands lightly, "Thank you, Kori." She stated.

Kori nodded and turned to leave. She wandered out of the door and headed straight for her locker. She reached the red, metal lockers and placed her hand on her door. She had an uneasy feeling within her; like someone was following her.

She spun around and noticed Dick shyly standing behind her. He had his hands in his pockets and a nervous type of smile on his face. She narrowed her eyes a little and saw that he visibly gulped,

"Can I help you?" Kori asked, directly.

Dick slumped forward and leaned against the lockers beside her, "Please tutor me. You're the girl who always gets perfect scores, right?" He checked,

Kori placed her books inside her locker and removed her glasses from her face. She placed them in the case and shoved them into her bag. She sighed and nodded.

Dick smiled slightly. He was right about what he had said about her the previous night at the diner. She was really pretty.

"I really need to pass the end of semester test and I really don't wanna waste my time searching for a tutor. You're good at maths... I'm not... Work that one out."

"Mm... I have such a busy schedule as it is..."

"Please? I'll make it worth your while,"

Kori considered that. She was trying to raise money to give her car a complete refit and him paying her for tutoring him really would help, "How much are you thinking?"

"Mm... $300 a session?"

Kori almost felt her heart stop, "$300?"

"It can be more if you want,"

"Hm... You really do have money, huh?"

Dick chuckled, "Adopted son of a millionaire, what do you think?"

Kori allowed herself to quirk a small smile. He bit his lip and gazed at her with hope in his eyes, "So...?"

"Well... I do need the money..."

Dick continued to stare at her intently, praying that she would say yes. She was practically his only hope.

"Fine," Kori sighed. She watched the expression of relief pass over Dick's face.

"Thank you! You won't forget it, Kori. I swear." He told her, smiling,

Kori was about to sarcastically protest to that but she decided against it. Dick reached into his pocket and whipped his phone out. Kori stared at him, wondering what he was doing,

"What's your number?" He asked,

"Here," Kori replied, gently taking his phone from him. She speedily typed it in and he did the same as she passed her phone to him. They agreed that they would exchange schedules with one another in order to figure out the best times to meet up.

"Oh... And um... Could you not tell anyone that you'll be tutoring me?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck,

"Of course," She replied, believing that he deserved some privacy about such a personal matter,

"Thanks... I just... Don't wanna be made fun of, y'know?" He confided in her.

"I understand," Kori returned, studying him for a moment.

They bid each other farewell for the time being and Dick walked through the halls towards the cafeteria. He felt so relieved that Kori had agreed to tutor him. It really did seem like a good idea, the more he thought about it.

She was the smartest kid in his class. If she couldn't teach him, it was likely that no one else could either. A part of him also liked the fact that it was _her_ who was going to be tutoring him. He didn't know her very well but she seemed genuinely nice and he found that it wasn't very hard to talk to her. It was weird but Dick wasn't complaining...


	4. Chapter 4

The following day was Thursday; one of the days that Dick and Kori had agreed to meet up on. Whilst figuring out when to do the tutor sessions, they had carefully worked around Kori's work hours so that she wasn't too tired or was going to be late or anything like that. They had agreed to meet up after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Dick had whole heartedly agreed to stop going out as much in the coming weeks so that he could really focus on his studying. He knew it was going to be slightly difficult to cut out such things considering he was so used to the activities but he knew that his grades had to come first now. It was literally the last straw.

Dick yawned as he drove up to the front gate of Wayne Manor. He was tired from his day and if he had a choice, he would _not_ be doing extra maths but it was necessary at the moment. As he drove closer to the gates, he noticed a figure sitting against the wall. Kori?

He stopped the car and got out of the driver's seat. He walked around the edge of his car and kneeled down so that he was level with Kori who was apparently sleeping.

Dick pushed her ruby hair behind her ear so stop it from covering her calm face. As he completed his gesture, she opened her eyes and woke with a start,

"Kori, it's me, Dick..." He told her,

"Oh... Uh... Where have you been?" Kori murmured, rubbing her eyes,

"Oh... I have practice every day after school for an hour... I guess I should have told you that..."

Kori yawned, "It would have been appreciated,"

Dick's face turned sheepish and he offered her a hand and helped her up off of the ground. He opened the passenger side door and watched as she climbed in. Dick felt really bad about forgetting to tell her about his practice. She could have gotten ill from being out there for so long. It wasn't quite winter yet but autumn could be bitter.

He got in the driver's side and turned to Kori with a soft expression, "I'm really sorry that I forgot to tell you, Kori." He said, sincerely,

Kori held the glare she was giving him for a moment but her icy exterior cracked, "It is fine," She sighed, giving into a small smile,

Dick smiled back, glad that she wasn't too angry at him. That would have been a terrible start to their first tutoring session. Dick leaned out of the window and typed in the code to open the gate.

Kori watched as the large gates opened slowly for Dick to pass through into the area. As they moved, she stared out of the window at the manor.

It was far from exaggeration when people talked about Wayne Manor; it was a lot more breath taking than people made it out to be. Kori's green eyes shifted from the Manor to Dick,

"You truly live here?" She blurted out,

Dick chuckled, "Yeah... That's usually people's first response when they see it up close,"

Kori smiled and continued to stare at the gorgeous property.

As Dick pulled up right outside of the front door, he got out and walked around to Kori's side. He opened her door and took her hand to help her out, like a gentleman; a gesture that surprised Kori a lot.

Dick walked with her up the front steps and unlocked the door with his key. He pushed the door open and signalled Kori to go in first. She nodded and blushed a faint pink.  
Kori took a step inside and gasped. She slowly twirled as she drank in the appearance of the Manor from the inside. It was even better than the outside. The floors were covered in black marble and the ceiling was a lot higher up than Kori thought it would be. There was a small balcony that overlooked the main portion of the foyer. It had tons of bookshelves so Kori assumed that it was a library; her enthusiasm for books really reached its highest level when she saw that. The furniture was sleek and looked as if it shouldn't be touched at all. There was a double staircase that led upstairs and a huge kitchen on the right side of the foyer.

Dick laughed from behind her, "I never get tired of people's reactions when they walk into this place," He admitted, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Kori shook her head, still in awe, "It... I... Wow!" Kori exclaimed, smiling back at Dick.

He gave her a light shove in the direction of the stairs when Alfred wandered out into the foyer. He bowed his head, "Good Afternoon, Master Dick. I see you have company," He acknowledged,

Dick felt awkward. He hadn't told anyone about his tutoring; not even Tim and he told Tim everything. He shrugged. He wasn't going to lie, technically,

"This is my friend, Kori Anders," Dick told Alfred, "We're working on... Uh..."

"We are working on a science project that we have been assigned to," Kori lied, stepping forward to gracefully shake Alfred's hand. Dick smirked slightly. She had saved him with her quick thinking. He was awful at lying anyway.

"Right... Kori, this is our butler, Alfred. He's practically family though," Dick explained,

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Alfred," She greeted, politely.

"Likewise, Miss Anders," Alfred responded, gently releasing her hand. Kori took a small step back and looked at Dick as he cleared his throat,

"Anyway... We're gonna be upstairs. See ya." Dick bid, pushing Kori towards the stairs again.

Kori laughed as they raced each other up the stairs. Dick smirked as he was victorious.

"By the way... Thanks for saving my butt back there." Dick stated as they began walking towards his room,

"I welcome you. I understand that you wish to keep the matter private." Kori returned,

Dick grinned, "Yeah... But quick thinking with the science project thing. No wonder you get good grades, you genius."

Kori shook her head but smiled nevertheless.

Dick's expression changed quickly as he noticed another figure walking towards them. Kori turned to look at him too. He was similar to Dick in certain features. They both had blue eyes and black hair but this unknown figure seemed to have streaks of white and grey running through the front of his. His skin was a lot paler than Dick's; so much that it looked cold to touch. Amidst that, he had a cigarette hanging from his mouth and a cocky grin to match,

The guy looked Kori over for a moment and shot an expression in Dick's direction, "I thought you stopped bringing random girls here, Grayson," He mocked,

Kori blushed and lowered her head, feeling uncomfortable with the assumptions of the type of girl she was that were being made. Dick clearly sensed Kori's discomfort. He softly placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her past the mystery guy.

"You're funny. Kori's just a friend." Dick said, defensively,

"Riiiight... Friend... Well, at least she's gorgeous," He returned, briefly winking at Kori who cringed slightly.

Dick rolled his eyes, "C'mon Kori," He instructed, pushing his door open for her. Kori immediately wandered inside. The encounter with the boy in the hallway made her feel awkward to say the least.

Kori took a seat on the edge of Dick's bed and crossed her legs. She placed her bag beside her whilst Dick closed his door,

"Who was that?" Kori queried. For a minute, she wondered if she was coming across as prying. Although, she felt she deserved to know who he was for he had been beyond creepy to her,

Dick crossed the space and placed his own bag on the end of his bed, "Bruce adopted three of us. There's me, Tim and Jason. Jason was the guy in the hallway." He clarified,

Kori sensed a rough tone when he spoke of him and couldn't keep her mouth shut, "You do not like him?" She guessed,

"I have to deal with him," Dick answered, shrugging. Kori nodded slowly.

Dick removed his shoes and signalled that she could do the same. Kori kicked off her small pumps and crossed her legs again.

Dick rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, "So... Uh... How does this tutoring thing work?" He questioned.

Kori considered his question as she retrieved a maths textbook from her bag. She strolled over to his desk and beckoned him to sit beside her. She opened up the textbook on a random page and turned her body to face him,

"What do you mean?" She finally responded,

"Like... What do we do? I've never had a tutor before..."

"I have never tutored anyone before,"

Dick chuckled, "So this is gonna go well then, huh?"

Kori smiled softly as he sat down on the chair beside her. She lightly tapped her pencil against her lips, "Well... What do you feel that you struggle the most with in maths?" She asked,

"Uh... Oh! Percentages? I hate percentages." He answered,

Kori nodded and began writing some simple percentage questions on a piece of paper for him. She passed him the questions and Dick gulped,

"I-I'm not really sure how to do them..." He admitted, timidly,

"That is okay. Here, let me help you," Kori offered, feeling sorry for him. She decided it must have been difficult to try hard in something and always end up with the same results each time.

"So, the first question is 25% off of $120," Kori began, "Ones like these are quite simple once you learn methods around them. If you think that 25% is the same as a quarter, yes? So, just half the original number and half it again. Does that part make sense?"

Dick straightened up in the chair and Kori noted the concentration on his face and gave into a faint smile. He scrunched his face up as he processed the sum and nodded slowly,

"So... What would the answer be?" Kori urged,

"Can I..." Dick trailed off but gestured towards the paper,

"Work it out? Of course," Kori replied,

Dick scribbled a lot on a small section of the paper. Kori watched him intently. A part of her really did want him to succeed. She didn't want him to do all of this for nothing.

"All I got was 30... That's wrong, right?" Dick sighed,

"Mm, no. You have the first part correct but... Think of it this way. There is a sale within a clothing shop. There is 25% off of a shirt which costs $120. The percentage would mean $30 off of the item so what would it be overall?" Kori assisted him,

"So... $120 take away $30... $90? The answer would be $90?" Dick asked, hoping he was correct,

"Exactly! Well done," Kori praised him.

Dick broke into a smirk at achieving something that he had so much trouble with. His expression faded, "Ugh. My head hurts already," He complained,

Kori ignored his complaint and scribbled down some more questions for him to finish by himself. She passed it to him and stared at him,

"There's no way I can work all of these out, Kori," He protested,

"Just try," Kori insisted,

Dick groaned but got his head down and started filling in the blanks within the questions. Kori gazed at him while he worked. He was a strange one. The hate that she previously felt for him was fading away. He didn't seem as bad as she thought in all honesty. She thought back to when he called her his, "Friend" to both Alfred and Jason. She knew they were lying about what Kori was doing there but she wondered if he really thought of her as a friend.

After all, they had only really known each other for a day at the most...

Kori shook her head to bring herself out of her reverie. She realised that it had been roughly 10 minutes since she set Dick the task of completing the 20 questions.

She noticed that he stuck his tongue out a little in concentration. She almost laughed aloud but that would have been awkward to explain to him.

Dick sat up suddenly like an excited child and passed Kori the sheet he had been writing on, "Finished," He told her,

Kori picked up a green and red pen and began going through the answers.

Dick anxiously waited for his score out of 20. While he waited, he watched Kori as her jade eyes scanned over his work. He had to admit, she had really nice eyes. They were unique. They were a type of green that he had never seen before. He enjoyed her company too. She didn't get angry with him when he got things wrong; she remained calm and was sweet in helping him to correct his mistakes. He smiled absentmindedly.

"You know, you have only got 8 of these wrong. Your maths skills do not seem _so_ bad..." Kori reported, handing his work back to him.

"Wait for it... This is only one part of maths. Wait until we move onto algebra." Dick whined,

Kori laughed quietly, "I cannot wait..." She said, sarcastically, "Now, let us go through the wrong answers to see where-"

"Before we do more work... Do you wanna order some Chinese food?" Dick wondered,

Kori was about to scold him for becoming distracted but she was feeling hungry so she nodded, "Alright," She agreed.

Dick ended the call after ordering their takeout food. Making a list of what they wanted ended up being a lot more amusing than they had anticipated. Kori was laying on her back on Dick's bed and was smiling. Dick flopped down beside her with enough distance between them so it wasn't uncomfortable, "You're so weird. How can you not like chicken chow mein?" Dick questioned, bewildered,

"I do not know! Whenever I consume it, all I can think of is worms... Like the noodles are moving!" Kori giggled,

"Pft, foreign girls." Dick joked, earning a light smack on the arm from Kori.

There was a pause but Dick caught Kori's attention by turning his head towards her,

"So, you're all smart like..." Dick started,

"Mm," Kori returned,

"What do you wanna do after high school?"

"I wish to attend Gotham College for the creative arts,"

"Sounds fancy,"

"I have wanted to attend that specific College since I was a child..."

"So, are you a drama student, music student or art student?"

"Art,"

Dick eyed her carefully, genuinely taking an interest in her life, "What'd you draw?"

"Anything and Everything,"

"Cool... Can I see some time?"

"Perhaps..."

Dick chuckled and placed his hands behind his head. Kori glanced over at him and smiled. Blue and green mixed as their eyes focused on each other,

"What about you? What do you wish to do with your life beyond high school?"

"College is a must... I think Bruce would disown me if I said I didn't have any intentions of going. I honestly don't know past that... I try not to think about the future too much,"

Dick closed his eyes after speaking. Kori opened her mouth to speak but they heard the ring of the doorbell.

"Sweet! Food is here! Be right back!" Dick enthused, rolling off of his bed to go and collect the food.

Kori sat up and crossed her legs, waiting for Dick to return. Kori found herself pondering Dick as a person. He seemed so different when it was just she and him. But, he acted shockingly different at school as he was constantly surrounded by people who were willing to judge him immediately without giving it a second thought.

She vaguely understood it. He was _so_ afraid of being anything close to himself in the fear of being ridiculed for it. No matter how good a person he really was, he was afraid of losing his status. He was afraid to show his true colours.

Kori understood that. She understood that being himself meant letting his guard and his metaphorical walls down. It meant showing his weaknesses.

School reminded Kori of a Jungle. If you showed your emotions even once, you were blacklisted as weak and fragile; an easy target for students to crush in order to make themselves feel superior.

Kori shook her head and forced her lips to tug upwards into a smile as Dick came back through the door, bearing the food. He grinned at her and set the food down on his bed. He must have noticed something artificial about Kori's expression. He raised an eyebrow as he mirrored her sitting position,

"Everything okay?" He asked,

Kori was desperate to ask him why he wore a mask in school. Why he acted the way he did. Sure, she had a good idea that it was linked to the way that others perceived him but why did he care so much?

However; Kori knew that their 'friendship' had not reached even close enough to give her the right to question such a thing.

Kori guessed there was a big difference between her life and Dick's life. He had worked at fitting into the desirable and glamorous lifestyle that he currently had. In comparison, Kori had always been herself. She had no lies about herself but then she realised why they were so different. He had so many things to lose by being his kind and sweet true self but Kori on the other hand; she was herself because she had never lied in the first place meaning she had absolutely _nothing_ to lose.

Kori's smile felt more natural now that she had begun to piece some things about him together, "Of course," Kori replied, laughing slightly,

Dick's grin widened and he passed her a container full of rice. She grabbed the wooden chopsticks and began to carefully place the food into her mouth, keeping her eyes on Dick as if trying to figure him out like a maths problem...


	5. Chapter 5

The following afternoon, Dick wandered home after his soccer practice. He had decided against taking his car that morning because in truth, he had hoped he could walk home with Kori or at least meet up with her after his practice. He felt that he could talk better with her whilst walking than in the car yet he wasn't sure why.

As he strolled down the street towards the manor, he saw no sign of her _at all_. He wasn't sure as to why but he felt a pang of concern. He hadn't seen her in maths during the day either. He tapped in the code to open the gates to the Manor and got his phone out of his pocket. He clicked her name and began calling her.

After a couple of rings, he heard a croaky, "Hello?"

"Hey," Dick replied, "Aren't you coming over today?"

"Oh, I was meaning to contact you during the day,"

"Are you okay? I didn't see you in school..."

"I woke up with a sick feeling... I stayed home to prevent it becoming worse. Apologies for not being able to tutor you today,"

Dick smiled at her consideration, "It sucks that you can't,"

"I could try and-"

"Kori, I'm not gonna drag you out if you're sick... Though, I hope you get better soon,"

"Thank you, Richard. Try to study hard without me,"

Dick chuckled, "Kori, we both know that I can't do maths without your help,"

Kori sniffled but giggled, "As your tutor, I would still like you to _try_."

"Alright, alright, I'll do it for you. I can't promise that I'll stick to it though,"

Kori shook her head and smiled, "As long as you are trying,"

"I'll let you get some rest... Bye Kori,"

"Goodbye, Richard,"

As Dick ended the call, he felt a tingle electrify his spine. No one called him by his actual name. The only one who ever really called him, "Richard" was his mother before she died.

Usually, he would make a point about someone calling him by his proper name. He didn't like people saying it but when Kori called him, "Richard," he honestly didn't mind.

Dick shook his head. He didn't know why he felt the odd sensation up his back when Kori said his name but he tried to put it out of his head. He assumed it was just because he wasn't used to anyone calling him that.

He continued to walk up to the main door of the manor and trudged upstairs to his room. He was happy that it was the weekend but he also knew that his nights out were going to be less frequent. He groaned as he fell onto his bed.

After an hour of napping, Dick opened his eyes and the first thing his sight fell upon was his maths books which were sitting on his desk, unopened.

He glanced between his books and his phone. He really wanted to go out; he knew that Vic was throwing a party tonight and his parties were always memorable.

With a heavy sigh, Dick got to his feet and picked his phone up. He chose the silent option and placed it face down so it wouldn't distract him. He proceeded to sit at his desk. He cleared his throat and opened the textbook with, 'Fractions' written on the front.

He decided to start off simple and wrote out random questions with the easiest fraction of ½. He easily filled in the answers and slowly but surely moved on to harder sums and even took a shot at doing improper fractions. He felt challenged because Kori wasn't there to help him but... Some part of him didn't want to disappoint her.

His mind began to wander at the thought of Kori. He smiled. Dick honestly thought Kori was going to be a geek who was quiet and boring but she wasn't at all like that. She was sweet and helpful and she had already thrown some banter into their conversations. He liked the fact that she didn't really care about what people thought of her. He wished that he could be that way inclined.

Dick shook his head and had been day dreaming a little longer than he realised. He sighed. Although he wanted to make Kori proud, he was beginning to get bored of studying. He bit his lip and got up.

He wandered over to his phone and picked it up. He turned it over in his hand and saw that he had 4 missed calls from Wally. Dick gave into his weakness and picked up his keys whilst calling Wally back. Dick still felt happy; he had studied for just over an hour... He knew Kori would praise him for his effort. _She was like that_.

Dick raised a hand to his forehead and groaned as the power of his hangover was dragging him into a sickly oblivion. He was somewhat thankful that Kori wasn't feeling well because there was no way he would be able to do any work today. It seemed like the perfect day to stay in sweats and watch TV with junk food.

His mind lingered on Kori for a moment. He grunted as he reached over to his bedside table and picked up his phone. He rubbed his eyes and focused on the screen. He found Kori's name in his contacts and began calling her. He felt it was necessary to check on her to see how she was feeling,

"Hello?" a quiet voice answered,

"Wow, I thought I sounded bad," Dick chuckled, coughing slightly due to the dryness in his throat,

Kori gave into a small giggle that was followed up with a sniffle, "I am simply tired... I trust you went out last night, then?" Kori assumed,

"Actually, you'd be proud of me. I studied Fractions for just over an hour and then I decided to go out," He returned,

"Oh! I am proud of you!" Kori said, enthusiastically. Dick grinned. He was glad that he had made her happy with the knowledge that he had tried for her like he said he would.

"So, how are you feeling this morning?"

"I am feeling better actually. My mother was feeding me remedies from the country I was born in. Although they tasted awful, they apparently worked. I will be back in school on Monday,"

Dick chuckled, "Good! I would end up failing without you!"

Kori felt her cheeks heat up and she smiled softly at his comment,

"So..." Dick began, nervous about what he was going to ask her, "I was wondering... Do you feel like cheering me on at Monday's game?"

"..."

"Uh... Kori?"

"I do not know, Richard... It would be different... You would be with the popular students and..."

"Please? You might enjoy the atmosphere... It's lively..."

"Mm... Can I bring Rachel and Garfield?"

"Who?"

"They are my friends,"

"Oh! Yeah, of course!"

"I will consider it... So, I am correct in assuming that we do not have a session together on Monday afternoon?"

Dick only just remembered that too and he frowned, "Oh yeah... Sorry..."

"It is fine. Your sport is equally important, Richard,"

Dick smiled fondly, "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay... Bye Richard,"

 _There was that electricity again_ , "Bye, Kori,"

After he hung up, he felt a strange swirl within his stomach. It was almost like fluttering. It was weird and Dick had never felt it before. He gulped and shrugged. He assumed he was hungry so he headed downstairs.

Monday afternoon rolled around quicker than any student would have liked. As the bell signalling the end of the day sounded, classrooms burst open with students eager to do whatever they wanted to.

Kori and Dick purposefully packed their things away slowly and as their maths class emptied, they threw each other a couple of glances.

Mrs Bliss caught these glances and smiled, "So... How is the tutoring going, you guys?" She asked, leaning forward in her chair,

Dick and Kori stared at each other for a moment before Kori smiled and turned her head towards their teacher, "It is going better than expected," Kori admitted,

"Thanks Kori," Dick chuckled,

She smirked, "You know what I mean,"

Mrs Bliss clasped her hands together in delight, "Good! I am glad to hear that you are improving, Dick,"

The two teenagers nodded to Mrs Bliss and carried on with leaving the classroom. They walked together towards the boys' locker room. Dick needed to start getting ready for his soccer match immediately as it started in roughly, 45 minutes.

"Ugh... I'm so nervous for tonight..." Dick confessed,

"You will be fine, _Captain_ ," Kori replied, smirking at her use of his title.

Dick chuckled and he felt his anxiety melt slightly. Kori seemed to have that effect.

"If we lose, I'm blaming you for saying that,"

Kori laughed, "Good luck,"

Dick nodded his thanks, "Are you still gonna come tonight? It'd be nice to see a... _Very_ familiar face as of late,"

She understood his humorous remark and tilted her head whilst faintly smiling, "Perhaps,"

Dick chuckled, "Cryptic as always, huh, Kori?"

Kori giggled and gently squeezed his shoulder in support, "Bye, Richard," She stated, beginning to walk towards the front of the school,

"Bye Kori..." He trailed off as his tone became lighter. This time, it was more than a shock rippling up his spine that caught his attention. At her touch, it was almost like a spark. His skin felt strange, like there was something crawling over it. Dick shook his head and pushed the locker room door open,

Kori flipped her hair over her left shoulder as she slipped into a seat within the stands. She had convinced Garfield and Rachel to go with her to the soccer game. It had raised suspicion at first but Kori had saved herself from explaining Dick's predicament by telling them that she wanted to develop interest in as many different aspects of high school as possible, including sports. They had accepted it straight away.

"How much longer is it going on for?" Kori asked Rachel,

Rachel eyed her, "Where were you?"

"I told you that I had to go to the bathroom,"

Rachel nodded as she remembered, "Um... I think they need to score one more to win,"

Kori digested the information and clasped her hands in her lap. Of course, she wasn't interested in sport in the slightest but she had decided that it would be nice to be a supportive friend to Dick.

She watched him as he sprinted back and forth across the pitch. She gulped a little as he lifted his shirt to dab his sweaty face. She caught a glimpse of his toned stomach and her cheeks flushed red.

Kori knew that Dick was attractive but now that she had also gotten to know him a little more and even been labelled as his friend... She felt strange when she stared at him for a while. It was as if her stomach was doing flips but she didn't understand it. Surely, she hadn't actually developed a crush on him. The thought seemed near impossible to her.

Dick sprinted across the field and waved his arms frantically as he tried to get his teammates attention, "Wally! Come on!" He shouted,

The red head eyed him and took the hint. He booted the ball to Dick who took advantage of the other team for not having many players around him. He swerved around the few players and took a chance. He kicked the ball as hard as he could.

He watched the ball like a hawk and he felt his heartbeat in his ears as the tension started getting to him. It was almost like time was slowing _way_ down.

As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, Dick skidded to his knees and cheered whilst pounding his fist into the air.

Everyone in the stands got to their feet and cheered loudly for the home team. Kori desperately wanted to stand and cheer too but she resisted in fear of being questioned by Garfield and Rachel.

Dick was soon being tackled by Wally and Vic along with other members of the team and some of the cheerleaders who were always looking for attention from the final scoring player. He chuckled at the enthusiasm portrayed by those around him.

The stands began to empty and Kori, Rachel and Garfield started making their way towards the field. Rachel was practically running from the area. She had always hated sports of all kind.

"Ugh... I can't believe I actually wasted a couple of hours of my life at one of these things. I'm such a good friend to you, Kori," Rachel groaned,

"Aw come on, Rae! It was fun! It was... Different from what we usually do when we hang out!" Garfield declared, earning an eye roll from Rachel.

They started wandering towards the car park but Kori stopped and pretended to do her shoelace up.

"Are you coming?" Rachel asked,

"I shall join you shortly. Go on ahead," Kori answered. Rachel shrugged and continued walking with Garfield by her side.

Kori waited until they had disappeared from the field until she stood up straight. Dick was literally a few steps away from her. Kori smiled softly and she felt a rush of emotions as she watched him for a moment.

She waited until his eyes met hers. When his crystal eyes did focus on her emerald ones, her smile widened and she raised her hand slightly and waved.

For a moment, she thought Dick was going to walk over to her but instead, he did something that made Kori feel like a castaway.

She knew for a fact that he had met her gaze and yet, he ignored her completely and turned away to face some of his popular friends.

Kori lowered her hand and furrowed her eyebrows in a sense of confusion. She felt heat rise in her cheeks. Although no one had taken notice of her actions, she couldn't help but feel like an idiot. She was completely embarrassed. She had actually believed that Dick Grayson was different from how she first thought.

Her breathing came quicker. She knew that she was on the verge of tears. She was in shock that he could be so cold. _He was just like every other popular student in the whole school_.

Kori shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. She turned away and clenched her fists as she marched towards the car park. She was glad that the majority of students that attended her school were behind her.

Tears fell from Kori's eyes like waterfalls; quickly and uncontrollably. She felt so stupid for letting herself believe that she could be friends with someone like Dick Grayson. People like him would never change; they were exactly like how people thought they were.

' _Naive_ ' might as well have been her middle name.

Dick turned his head and saw Kori as she walked off towards the car park. He wanted nothing more than to go and tell her how happy he was that she had come to support him, maybe even take a chance and hug her for making the effort.

She was the one person he had met who didn't seem even remotely fake. His expression saddened as he realised that he had most probably torn down any chance of them becoming closer friends.

He didn't know why he had ignored her. It was almost like a sudden reaction. He had panicked momentarily about his status as a popular student. Surely, he would have been ridiculed for _even_ talking to her.

Dick felt his stomach twist with guilt and unhappiness. He was such an idiot.

 _I'm sorry Kori..._ He thought to himself, before he was being pulled towards another group of students...


	6. Chapter 6

Dick groaned as he hurried up the front steps of the manor and threw open the door to escape from the rain. He hated rain more than anything. He shivered as he stepped inside as his cold face was hit with immediate warmth that radiated within the manor.

He sighed and leaned against the door. He gulped. He wasn't sure if Kori was going to be coming over or not. After the previous night, he wouldn't blame her if she didn't turn up. He had acted like such a jerk by ignoring her. Even thinking about his actions made him feel terrible.

Dick noticed Alfred wandering around the corner and stopped him, "Alfred," He called,

"Good afternoon, Master Dick," The old butler greeted,

"Um... I don't suppose Kori..."

"Miss Anders is already upstairs in your room, Master Dick. Were you unaware of this?"

"I knew she was supposed to be coming over but... Never mind... Thanks!"

Alfred nodded to him and carried on walking towards the kitchen. Dick swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and his palms became sweaty. He really didn't want to argue with Kori but he knew he had done wrong. He was beyond nervous about walking into his own room.

As he quietly pushed open his door, he saw Kori. She was sitting at his desk with a curtain of red hair spilling over her shoulder. From what he could see, she was writing down some questions for him.

Cautiously, he closed the door as he stepped into the room. Dick had expected Kori to lift her head to look at him but she didn't which caused him to _really_ feel the cold shoulder she was giving him,

"Hey Kori..." He stated, trying to act casual,

"Greetings." She returned, keeping her eyes downcast on what she was writing,

Dick bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows. The two of them had just started to be comfortable around each other and of course, he had to go and ruin it. He mentally kicked himself.

He wandered over to the desk and took a seat beside her. He slowly got his books out from his bag whilst keeping his eyes on Kori for the entire time, "So... What're we learning today?" He asked, trying to keep the tone light,

"Volume," Kori bit out.

"Oh... Uh... Cool..." Dick stuttered, beginning to feel smaller and smaller.

Kori didn't even give him a small reaction or acknowledgement. He was beginning to crack under the pressure of her not talking to him. He exhaled noisily and placed a hand against the piece of paper that she was writing on. She sat back but kept her eyes focused on the paper beneath his hand.

"Look, Kori, about last night-" Kori cut Dick off immediately,

"Your act of ignoring me would not have bothered me so much if you had not been the one who was continuously asking me if I was going to go. Did you simply wish to laugh at me?"

"What? No! I swear. I'm really sorry, Kori... I just thought that I'd be questioned unnecessarily because I was talking to-"

"A 'geek' like me? That is what I would be labelled as in your 'clique', yes?" She sighed, "Just... Just forget about it. I am here to tutor you; not to be friends with you."

 _Ouch_. Dick's expression softened considerably and he stared at her face, "Kori... We are friends-"

"Oh really? If we were truly friends, you would not act differently when you are with me to that of when you are with other people; including your friends!"

"I know... I really am sorry, Kori... I don't know why I acted like that. I really want us to be friends..."

"How can I be sure that you are being truthful?"

Dick stared at her for a moment with an unrecognisable expression, "Trust me."

Kori held his gaze before she closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't want to waste her time by getting into a friendship that only existed on rare occasions. However, she also had a tugging thought in her mind. She _would_ like to be friends with him.

Dick could sense the thoughts running through Kori's head and he tilted his head, catching her attention. He softly smiled and reached into his bag.

"I got you an, "I'm sorry" cupcake..." He urged, presenting a pink frosted cupcake with small silver and purple edible butterfly decorations on it. Kori glanced at the cupcake and then back at Dick and gave into a small laugh. She decided to trust him on his words.

Dick grinned and breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't explain it but he felt naturally comfortable with Kori, like he could tell her things without worrying about her judging him or telling someone else. _There was the recently familiar flutter in his stomach_.

He pushed the feeling away as Kori gently took the pretty cupcake from him.  
She placed it on the desk and removed the paper wrapper from around the base of it. She paused and turned to Dick with a considerate smile,

"Would you like to share it with me?" She asked,

Dick mirrored her smile, "Sure," He chuckled, accepting the half that Kori held out to him,

They took their first bite out of the cupcake in unison with each other and smiled at the taste. It was a simple chocolate flavour with a hint of mint which was strange considering the frosting colour. Kori giggled at Dick and tapped her top lip, indicating that he had pink frosting on his own lip.

He smirked and wiped the sweetness away. He raised his index finger and swallowed before looking back up at Kori, "Oh... And to make it up to you some more... Do you feel like attending a 'high society event' with me?" He hoped,

Kori raised an eyebrow at him but smiled nonetheless, "What are you talking about?" She answered,

"Bruce is having a charity ball and I always have to go to them," He paused to roll his eyes, "But it'd be a lot easier to tolerate the event if I had some company..."

"Will I be shunned when your friends approach you?"

"No... It'll just be me and you, kid. My friends aren't really allowed to these things anymore..."

"Why is that?"

"One year, they got really drunk and Bruce got so mad... It ended with Wally pushing some executive of Bruce's over... It was pretty funny but... Y'know... Now they're forbidden basically,"

Kori couldn't help but laugh a little, "When is it?" She wondered,

"Saturday," He replied,

"Mm..."

"Please? I can't deal with talking to snobby old rich people on my own."

Kori giggled and focused her green eyes on Dick's blue ones, "I suppose I could help you out then..."

Dick grinned at Kori's agreement to accompanying him to the charity event. He was happy that they were going to try and reconstruct the friendship they were trying to create in the first place.

"Oh and I can pay you more if you want..." Dick offered,

"I am your tutor; not your escort," Kori reminded him. He turned red and felt the heat rise at the back of his neck. He shook his head suddenly,

"I didn't mean... I just thought..." He babbled,

"I know... You are asking me to accompany you as a friend, yes?"

"Yeah..."

"Then... I do not expect you pay your other friends to do things with you, do you?"

"Well... No... Heh..." Dick returned, smiling nervously. Kori giggled and shook her head at him,

"Now, all socialising aside, we must focus on volume of cubes, prisms-"

A groan from Dick made her stop speaking. He let his head fall back in portrayal of his hatred for the topic Kori had suggested.

Kori raised her eyebrows at his child-like behaviour. A small smirk tugged at her lips, "You wish to pass, do you not?" She asked,

Dick faintly smiled at her, "...Yeah..." He answered, quietly,

"Well then, shall we start?" Kori responded, allowing her smirk to show. Dick grinned and sat up straight. He turned in his chair to face Kori, showing her that his attention was all hers.

Kori nodded and began flipping through pages to find ones about volume. Dick kept staring at her. For some reason, he liked picking up on her features. He liked seeing how many different shades of green were in her eyes and he liked noticing how her golden skin shimmered when it came into contact with sunlight.

He was beginning to think that the recent fluttering in his stomach was more than just a coincidental occurrence...


	7. Chapter 7

Friday came along promptly and Dick was beginning to lack enthusiasm for the tutoring session that was consisting of Algebraic equations. Kori tapped her pencil on the textbook to show him what she was talking about but Dick watched as she yawned and knew that even she was getting bored of it. She sighed and dropped the pencil on the desk.

"Ugh... I feel that we should stop for tonight..." She suggested, stretching her arms above her head,

Dick let his head fall back and he sighed in relief, "Yay,"

"Do you feel like you are progressing with mathematics, Richard?" Kori asked, smiling,

Dick grinned at the sound of his name, "Actually, yeah. You've made things a lot simpler than the teachers ever have." He admitted, "It's kinda annoying that you weren't my tutor until now..."

Kori shrugged, "You simply need to apply yourself more. I know you enjoy popularity and partying but you should not allow your academia to slip,"

"Now you really do sound like a teacher,"

"Apologies,"

"Don't. I know you're right. It's just easy to get caught up in that stuff, y'know?"

Kori gave him a look, "I cannot say that I do,"

Dick chuckled but stared at her for a moment. Kori blushed and pushed some of her hair behind her ear, "What?" She laughed, nervously,

He stood up and offered her a hand, "C'mon,"

"Where to?"

"I think we should act like kids while we still have time,"

Kori raised an eyebrow but took his hand and allowed him to lead her downstairs. Together, they ran down the hallway and jumped down the stairs which cause Kori to giggle a lot.

They stopped at the garden doors. Dick opened them and they stepped outside. Kori shivered slightly and looked up at Dick,

"Richard, what are we doing out here?" She asked,

Dick smiled softly. He really did like it when Kori would say the full version of his name. He had begun to realise that the fluttering in his stomach was a side effect of being around Kori. He wasn't planning on admitting it out loud any time soon but he felt strange around Kori. She was sweet and kind and it was undeniable that she was beautiful too.

However, he wanted to take a little more time to figure out _exactly_ how he felt about Kori. He was pretty sure that he was developing a crush on her but he didn't want to confirm it to himself just yet.

"Do you feel like being childish?" He asked, smirking down at her. He pointed across the grounds at something that stood at the end of the stretch of garden.

Kori narrowed her eyes and tried to focus on what was at the end of the garden. When she realised it was a giant trampoline, her mouth opened slightly and she laughed,

"Yes!" She replied, excitedly.

Dick chuckled and together, they ran across the cold grass and rolled onto the trampoline. At first, Kori sat on the edge and giggled as Dick demonstrated some well executed back flips. He continued to show off his acrobatic skills before he grew tired of being so physically active and he dropped into a sitting position on the bouncy surface.

At this point, Kori got up and innocently leaped around the trampoline. Dick smirked and when she got closer to him, he surprised her in grabbing her around the waist and pulling her down beside him. She squealed out a laugh and breathed deeply as she laid beside Dick. They both smiled up at the star filled night sky as their chests heaved due to their recent activity.

"I have not been on one of these in years!" Kori exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief,

Dick chuckled, "Really?"

"Not since I was a child,"

"I come out here sometimes... Just to remind myself that I'm still a kid... No matter how quickly it's seeping away from me..."

Kori turned her head to look at him, "Does it frighten you?"

Dick mirrored her actions and turned his head to face her, "Does what frighten me?"

"The future... The expectations of growing up..."

"Oh yeah, completely... I mean, it happens so fast. You only have a short time to act up and make mistakes but soon enough, we'll be expected to act like adults. It sucks because... There's never been anyone telling us how we're actually supposed to act when we're adults, y'know? We're just kinda expected to become responsible and stuff..."

"I know... It does not seem very fair, does it?" Kori sighed and closed her eyes, "I simply wish that time would just stop... Or at least slow down... Even if it was just for a short time..."

Dick stared at her and smiled as she yawned. He tapped her wrist which caused her to open her enchanting emerald eyes immediately. Dick's breath hitched in his throat for a moment as his eyes melded with hers.

He cleared his throat, "Do you want me to drive you home now?" He offered, sitting up,

Kori sleepily smiled at him and joined him in sitting up, "Yes please," She answered,

Dick nodded and shuffled over to the edge of the trampoline. He took Kori's hand in his own and helped her off of the trampoline. They stood at the entrance of the trampoline like that momentarily. Dick only realised that he was still holding her hand when Kori gave him a tilt of her head with a questioning expression on her face,

"Oh, sorry..." Dick mumbled, releasing her hand instantly.

Dick rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly whilst Kori pushed a piece of auburn hair behind her ear. Dick was beyond happy that it was dark; that way Kori was unable to see the bright red hue that was appearing against his cheeks.

They wandered back inside together and Dick made sure he closed the doors behind him. He grabbed his keys off of the counter in the foyer and leaned against the back of the sofa whilst Kori went upstairs to grab her things.

Suddenly, a dark haired boy popped up from the sofa and made Dick jump a little,

"Damn it, Tim." He cursed his adopted sibling,

Tim chuckled and leaned over the back of the sofa, "Hey Dick... Who's the hot redhead?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows,

Dick rolled his eyes. If there was one thing that each of the adopted boys had picked up from Bruce, it was the ability to comment quite obviously on an attractive girl when they saw one.

"Just a friend," Dick commented, not quite knowing if his statement was true, considering his own mix of feelings in connection with Kori,

"Right, yeah... Okay... Just a friend..." Tim mocked,

"Ugh, you sound like Jason,"

"What, you don't like your 'friend' _that_ way at all?"

"I don't know..."

"Dick..."

Dick knew that Tim was searching for a straight answer and he was pretty sure that he had figured out just how he felt about Kori now. Whilst they were lying beside each other on the trampoline, Dick had been mulling over his thoughts and feelings about Kori. He was almost certain about how he felt now,

"Well... Yeah... I do like her..." Dick paused, "She's sweet, kind and really beautiful... Obviously..."

"Adorable," Tim gushed, sarcastically, causing Dick to roll his eyes at him,

"Don't say anything about it though..." Dick informed Tim, who nodded.

Tim opened his mouth to speak but stopped as they both turned their heads towards the stairs as they heard light footsteps upon the wood panelled flooring.

Kori shot Dick a smile and wandered closer to him. Dick took the hint from the silence that he should introduce them to each other, "Oh... Kori, this is my adopted little brother, Tim Drake," Dick told her, "And Tim, this is my friend, Kori Anders,"

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Tim," Kori greeted, smiling brightly at him,

"Trust me... The pleasure is all mine, Kori," He replied, purposely trying to irritate Dick.

Dick sighed and turned to Kori, "Should we go?" He queried,

"Okay," Kori agreed, "Goodbye Tim..."

Tim grinned and waved slightly, "Bye Kori... I hope I see you around..."

Dick made sure he shoved Tim over the back of the sofa before he stepped outside with Kori in front of him. Tim made a noise of protest as he hit the hard floor with a defined thud.

Dick grinned as he shut the door.

As Dick turned into Kori's street, curiosity rose in Kori, "Richard?" She started,

"Y-Yeah?" He stuttered, caught off guard by the soft, angelic tone of her voice,

"Why is it that I have not yet seen your father?"

"Bruce? Well... He works a lot... I mean, the man is practically married to his company. You'll probably meet him tomorrow,"

"Is it strange that I am nervous about tomorrow?"

Dick chuckled, "No, I understand... I always got nervous when I started going to these things. But, don't worry. I'll be there,"

Kori smiled softly at his reassurance and felt her cheeks heat up a little. Dick pulled up onto the curb outside of a cream coloured house, "Okay, Anders. Here's you," Dick stated, "Have you got everything?"

"I believe so," Kori assumed, pulling her bag off of the floor and onto her shoulder.

"Awesome. So, I'll pick you up around 6pm tomorrow?"

"That sounds good,"

"Cool," Dick breathed. The two of them stared at each other for a brief moment before Kori felt her cheeks getting hotter. She swallowed a lump in her throat and smiled at him,

"Thank you for giving me the ride home, Richard... Goodnight..."

Dick nodded, "No worries... Night, Kor,"

Kori opened the door and slid out of the seat. She shut the car door and walked around the front of Dick's car until she reached her front door.

She fumbled around for her keys in her bag whilst she barely contained the grin that was threatening to take over upon her lips. She knew it was a tiny thing but for the first time, he had given her a somewhat nickname. It was strange considering, "Kori" was already a shorter name for her actual name. However, she didn't mind. She actually thought it was sweet of him to give her a personal nickname.

Kori was scared to even come close to admitting it to herself but she was beginning to like Dick more than a friend. She knew that there was no point in the crush as the likelihood of him liking her back was extremely low. Also, she had a feeling that there could never be a future relationship between them as Dick would be too afraid to admit to having any feelings for her in public. She shook her head. Hopefully, the feelings for him would simply go away.

The following evening, Dick couldn't have been _more_ on time. He pulled up outside of Kori's house and wandered up to the front door. He exhaled nervously, in case one of Kori's family members opened the door. He thought that it would be _slightly_ awkward.

When he did lightly knock on the door, he was relieved to see Kori open it. However, he was taken aback by her appearance. She looked even more radiant than usual.

She wore a strapless white dress that revealed her bare back and there was a slash on either side of the dress, showing off her long golden legs when she moved. Her feet were adorned with black and white strap heels and she wore a simple silver necklace around her neck. Her hair was put up into an elegant bun with black and white chopsticks pushed through the middle of it whilst keeping her bangs and front pieces of hair down to frame her face.

"Whoa Kori... You look... Whoa..." Dick stammered, looking her over more than once.

Kori blushed but smiled at his incoherent compliment, "Thank you..." She giggled.

Dick gave her a lopsided grin and offered his arm to her like a gentleman. She accepted this and got into the passenger's side of Dick's car.

The drive to the manor was quiet but not uncomfortable. They talked about little things such as what charity Bruce was throwing the event for, who would be attending the event and Kori even asked if Jason was going to be there.

Dick felt a tug of jealousy when she had asked that last one. He knew that he was not necessarily entitled to be jealous but a part of him couldn't help it.

"Wh-Why do you wanna know if Jason will be there?" He asked,

"Well... Truthfully, I wish to know if I must try and do the dodging of him. When I met him in the hallway the first day of tutoring you, he made me feel very uncomfortable," Kori explained.

Dick hid his smile of relief. So, in reality, Jason made her feel awkward. _Fantastic_.

"Sorry about that... I had a feeling that he had made you feel that way..." Dick paused, "But no... I doubt that he'll be here tonight. He never has been one to show his face at these events."

Kori nodded as they pulled into the open driveway of the manor.

"Awesome..." Dick said under his breath,

"What is?" Kori asked,

"Bruce must have told the media that the event starts later, giving the guests a chance to escape the paparazzi." Dick explained, earning a nod from Kori.

Once Dick had parked up outside the doors, he escorted Kori up the front steps. He noticed Alfred was standing by the doors, presumably welcoming the guests.

As the two of them stepped inside, Alfred favoured them with a kind smile, "Good evening, Master Dick... Miss Kori..." He greeted,

"Hello again, Alfred," Kori returned, giving him a quick hug. Alfred smiled and raised an eyebrow at Dick who laughed and shrugged,

The two of them continued to wander through the foyer until a waitress came up to them with a tray of champagne glasses. Dick and Kori exchanged a glance before they each picked up a glass.

Dick nodded his thanks to the shy girl who blushed and hurried away. Kori eyed the girl with slight envy.

"Do you cause the female staff members to blush often?" Kori wondered, not succeeding very well in hiding her distaste,

Dick raised an eyebrow at her tone, "Mm... Sometimes... But, most of them aren't my type and some are way older than me which... I'm not really into." He chuckled, earning a slow nod from Kori,

He decided to dismiss her attitude towards the waitress because he didn't want to let himself believe she had any feelings for him other than platonic feelings.

Kori suddenly took hold of Dick's arm gently but enough so he would notice. He looked at her with question in his eyes,

"I must ask you something..." Kori trailed off,

"What is it, Kor?" Dick responded,

"Why... Did you ask me to come with you tonight and not someone like Kitten?"

"Well firstly, I _hate_ Kitten. She's so creepy and a total bitch... And secondly, I wanted to make it up to you for being a jerk at the start of the week..."

Kori digested that nodded slowly, "I see..."

"And... Because... Well... You're... You're a really awesome girl Kori... And I wanted to thank you for tutoring me. I know I'm a handful..."

Kori giggled and blushed, "Thank you... And you are not so bad..."

They gazed at each other for a moment until Dick noticed Bruce strolling towards them. Dick turned to face his adopted father, causing Kori to turn as well. Dick could have sworn he heard Kori gasp as Bruce came closer. She straightened up too.

"Dick," Bruce greeted, nodding to the boy,

"Hey Bruce... All the alcohol gone yet?" Dick joked,

"Of course not. You're friends aren't here," Bruce returned, smirking at his own joke. Dick grinned and took a sip from his glass of champagne.

Bruce turned his attention to Kori, who felt Dick's hand on her waist tighten slightly.

"And who's your lovely date?" Bruce asked,

Kori and Dick both flushed pink, "We aren't-"

"I am not-"

The two of them babbled but Dick cleared his throat and took over, "Kori's a friend," Dick told him. Bruce nodded and shook her hand in a polite manner.

"It's nice to meet you, Kori," He stated, flashing her a friendly smile,

"Likewise, Mr Wayne," Kori returned, holding the politeness.

When Bruce released Kori's hand, he took a step back and glanced past Dick's head,

"Ah, I see Mr Revot. Excuse me," He dismissed himself and nodded to the two teens before he moved past Dick towards his business associate,

"So... I am correct in assuming that he does not know about the tutoring sessions either?" Kori whispered, fixing Dick's tie so it would not look like they were talking about anything of importance,

"Uh... No... If he knew, he'd go crazy. I think he'd be more pissed at the fact... If I fail... I get kicked off the soccer team and sport is the only thing that's mine, y'know?" Dick paused, "I think it's just me and you that know,"

"And my mother and step father... They were curious as to where I keep going practically every afternoon." She replied, earning a nod of understanding from Dick.

He ran a hand through his ebony locks and sighed loudly. Kori looked up at him and raised an eyebrow,

"I'm so bored." Dick whined. Kori smiled and shook her head at him,

"Oh! I have an idea." He notified her,

"What?" Kori giggled,

"Do you feel like running around the hallways? They're emptyyyy." He sang,

"Surely we will get into trouble?"

"How can we? I'm the host's son."

Dick grinned and seized Kori's hand and led her through a set of double doors that led off to a part of the manor where the event was not being held. Dick noticed some of his blue fuzzy socks on the radiator and grabbed them. He handed them to Kori and her expression was one of complete confusion,

"Whose are they?" Kori giggled,

"Mine. Don't worry; they're clean," He chuckled,

"And why are you giving them to me?"

"Wear them... It won't work barefoot,"

Kori shook her head but gave into his request. She leaned against the wall and removed her heels. She slipped the fuzzy blue socks onto her feet and slid over to Dick with a high pitched laugh.

"That is so strange!" Kori claimed, holding onto Dick tightly in fear of slipping over. Dick softly smiled down at her.

He kicked off his own shoes and took her hand in his. They both started running and about halfway through the hallway, they stopped but the material on their feet caused them to continue moving. They slid uncontrollably a lot but by helping each other, they managed to stay up at least. They continued to act like reckless children for another 20 minutes until they grew tired.

They both took a seat on the steps that led up to another floor. Kori would never be able to get over the fascination of Wayne Manor. She sighed in content as she leaned against the wall.

Dick turned to her, "Sorry that tonight has been kinda boring, Kor," He mumbled,

"Actually... I have found the night most enjoyable," She confessed,

"Seriously?"

"I do not attend events such as these on a regular basis so... Yes, seriously."

"Well then, I'm glad." He sighed, "I suppose we should go back..."

Kori nodded and got to her feet. She twirled slightly so that she was facing Dick, who couldn't help but notice her bare legs through the slits in her dress.

His eyes found her beautiful face and he stood up too, "By the way, tell me when you wanna go home. I will be more than happy to take you." Dick admitted, showing how much he wanted to get away from the charity event,

"I shall keep that in mind," Kori giggled.

Dick nodded and they raced each other back to the main room where the event was being held. However, they made sure to present themselves in a proper manner when they actually entered the room; acting like kids was their little secret when it was just the two of them...


	8. Chapter 8

As the familiar sound of the bell rang out at the end of maths class on Tuesday, the students scurried from the room, desiring their individual helpings of lunch.

Likewise to recent lessons, Dick and Kori purposely packed their things away slowly. Dick stood beside Kori as she placed her last book into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She beckoned him to follow her with a wave of her hand.

She walked over to the teachers' desk and clasped her hands together, "Mrs Bliss?" Kori started,

"Yes, Kori?" She replied,

"Could I please have those four practice papers?"

"Oh yes. Let me go and get them,"

With that, Mrs Bliss got up and strolled out of the room to go and retrieve the practice test papers that Kori had asked for. Dick suddenly felt a wave of panic at the idea of doing four practice papers at once. He gently touched Kori's shoulder and turned her around to face him,

"Kori, are you crazy? I can't do four practice papers at once!" He complained.

Kori softly smiled and placed a hand on his chest to stop him from speaking, "Richard, they are to space out over a number of sessions. Of course I would not make you complete four of them in one session." She told him,

Dick visibly relaxed and gave her a lopsided grin, "Oh thank God." He sighed, causing her to giggle.

Mrs Bliss soon walked back through the door with the papers in her hands. Neither of them could really explain why but as soon as Mrs Bliss had re-entered the room, they had taken a step back from each other.

The perky teacher leaned forward and handed the tests to Kori with a vibrant smile painted across her lips. Kori nodded her thanks and she and Dick left the room together.

Dick and Kori slowly wandered through the empty hallway as they were both headed for the cafeteria. Kori suddenly remembered something and turned her head towards Dick,

"Oh! You wished to inform me of location changes for today's tutoring session?" She prompted,

"Oh yeah... Bruce is doing some renovation crap to the manor tonight. Would we be able to do it at your place?" He wondered,

"I do not see why not,"

"Awesome."

The two of them turned to each other with mischievous grins on their faces, "So... Who is going to go in first today?" Kori asked,

"You can, Anders." Dick shot back, chuckling,

Kori nodded and pushed open the doors that led into the crowded cafeteria. She had never really noticed how divided the students were at her school. It was painfully obvious which people belonged to which clique based on where they sat at lunch. Also, there were not just a couple of cliques; there were quite a few. There were defined geeks, the populars, Goths, skaters, hipsters, preps, stoners, drama fanatics, jocks... Kori shook her head.

She found it laughable that stereotypical groups even existed; they were so stupid.

She spotted Garfield and Rachel sitting at their usual table that was situated in the corner of the cafeteria. Kori smiled and wandered over. She sat on the opposite side of Garfield and Rachel which allowed her to overlook other tables within the room.

"Where have you been lately?" Garfield asked, "We haven't hung out in ages!"

Kori gulped but smiled nonetheless, "I have been doing extra work so my maths grade will be at its highest," She lied,

They seemed to accept that and they continued to eat the food in front of them. Kori looked up and noticed Dick strolling into the cafeteria. He cast a quick glance at Kori and favoured her with a secret grin before sitting with the rest of the populars. She had to look down at her water bottle to stop herself from smiling back at him. That definitely would have raised questions.

Kori felt a pang of sadness within her chest. She hated the fact that they couldn't just be friends openly. It made Kori angry that Dick cared _so_ much about his status and what people would say yet, she understood it too. It simply made her realise that they could never be more than friends either. Judgement wouldn't be on their side.

As Kori flipped some of her hair over her shoulder, she eyed one of her fellow classmates. Her name was Kole and she was what people would define as a loner. She kept to herself but she was a lovely girl. Kori had once been partnered up with Kole in English and she had been so patient with Kori. Originally being from another country, Kori often had trouble in English so when Kole had helped her out, she had appreciated it greatly.

Kori gasped at what happened next.

Kole nervously tried to walk past the populars without being noticed but Kitten saw the shaky girl and couldn't help herself. With an evil smirk, Kitten deliberately stuck her foot out in front of Kole.

Nearly all of the students in the cafeteria burst out laughing. Kole fell face first into her tray of food and was sprawled over the hard ground. She was practically frozen with embarrassment. Kori frowned as she noticed Kole had started to silently cry.

Kori was disgusted at the students' behaviour and she felt a surge of anger as she noticed Dick laughing along with the rest of them.

Rachel looked at Garfield and Kori. Together, they got up and walked over to Kole. As Kori got closer to the populars, Dick immediately shut his mouth and stopped laughing, knowing that it was wrong. He knew that she was disappointed in him because there was no way he could have missed the cold glare she shot him.

Rachel crouched down and helped Kole to stand up. She handed her a tissue to wipe her eyes with. Kole gave Rachel a brief smile which Rachel didn't hesitate to return, "C'mon Kole... Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" She said in a soothing voice.

Kole nodded and she and Rachel started to make their way out of the cafeteria.

Garfield and Kori took a step forwards in order to follow them but a certain blonde girl was blocking their path.

"Move Kitten." Garfield growled, unimpressed by her disgraceful behaviour,

"Oh what was that? I thought I heard a geek speaking," She returned, spitefully,

Dick gulped as he noticed Kori's jaw set. He had never actually seen Kori angry; not properly anyway.

Garfield smirked, "Probably still better than the sound of your shrill voice," He bit out, causing Kori to smirk and the populars to cheer at Kitten's backfired humiliation,

Kitten gritted her teeth, "Whatever. Like I care what a dork like you thinks of me."

"I should think that you do considering you are now emphasising your derogatory statements," Kori interjected. Dick was slightly concerned. He was hoping that Kori could stand her ground because he wasn't sure how to react if it turned around on her.

"Your stupid words don't even make sense, loser."

"No... You are simply too dim to understand them..."

Kori smirked in a triumphant way as the populars backed her sentence with loud laughter. Wally slammed his hand down on the table and looked like he was going to cry, "Oh my gosh! Burn!" He rooted. Dick grinned at the fact it was Kori who was getting the praise.

Kitten's cheeks were burning red and she shrieked as she stomped her foot and pushed past Garfield and Kori to get out of the cafeteria.

Garfield gently nudged Kori and grinned at her, "Ah, we make the best team, Red," He stated, causing her to giggle.

The two of them started to amble away but Kori threw a glance back in Dick's direction. He saw the disappointment in Kori's eyes. His shoulders slumped. He knew he had acted like a bastard about Kole falling. Truthfully, he had laughed because... Everyone else did.

"Who knew waitress girl was such a badass?" Wally commented,

"And Kitten's face! Oh, lunch is always priceless!" Jenny added.

Dick smirked a little. Maybe his friends knowing about Kori wouldn't be the worst thing after all...

Later that afternoon, Kori was at home. She was in the main room, sketching her sister who was sitting on the other end of the sofa, with her phone practically glued within her hands.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Kori automatically knew who it was.

She closed her sketchbook and shoved it underneath the sofa. Kori got to her feet and wandered into the hallway. She opened the door and was met with Dick who was sheepishly smiling at her.

"Uh... Hey," He greeted,

"Hello," She returned, noticing the sudden change in weather, "Come in... It is starting to rain, Richard,"

Dick felt his heart skip a beat when she used his name. He felt like he hadn't heard it in ages.

Kori stepped aside to allow him access into the hallway and shut the door behind him. She used her hand to signal him to follow her as she didn't really want her energetic mother to come out and greet them. Her mother had always been weird when Kori had guests over; especially male guests.

As they approached the kitchen, Kori's mother stepped out with a towel in her hands, "Korina, I..." She paused as she noticed Dick standing nervously behind the red headed girl, "Oh... I did not realise that you had company,"

Kori groaned in frustration which Dick couldn't help but smirk at, "I told you that I was tutoring here today." She reminded her, "This is the boy I have been tutoring. This is Richard Grayson."

"Hello Richard," Luna beamed,

"Hey Mrs Anders... Uh... You can call me Dick if you want; everybody else does," Dick replied.

Kori glanced at him briefly. He had never said that to her. She had always called him "Richard" without him correcting her. She decided to ask him about it later.

Suddenly, a gruff voice sounded from the corner of the hallway, "Luna, honey, I need- Oh! We have a guest," The man noted.

Kori ran a hand over her face and sighed, irritated. Dick smirked at how frustrated she was getting over her embarrassment.

"Richard, this is my step father, Galfore," She took a breath, "Galfore, this is Richard Grayson. He is the boy that I am tutoring."

Galfore gave into a wide smile and shook Dick's hand, "It's nice to meet you, my boy,"

"You too," Dick replied, mirroring his smile in a polite manner.

Kori exhaled noisily and looked between her mother and Galfore whilst she shuffled her feet, "Okay... We are going to go now..." She informed them, pulling Dick towards the stairs,

"Alright, sweetheart... But keep your door open!" Her mother called, making Kori freeze on the spot at the bottom of the stairs.

Her eyes widened and her face flushed a vibrant scarlet colour. She let her face fall into her hands, "Oh my X'hal!" She mumbled,

Dick chuckled and grasped her shoulders from behind. He ushered her towards the stairs and lowered his face to her ear, "Your face looks as red as your hair, Kor," He whispered,  
Kori laughed at his comment, "Come on,"

With that, they hurried up the stairs and into Kori's room. Dick chuckled as he walked in and took a seat on the edge of her bed. Kori sighed and closed the door before leaning against it briefly.

Dick raised an eyebrow and clicked his tongue sarcastically, "Ah, you're mom will think we're up to something," He joked,

Kori playfully scowled at him, "Maths, hopefully," She returned, grabbing the maths textbooks from her bedside table and taking a seat on her bed, opposite Dick.

Dick cleared his throat as he knew he had to get something straight with her, "Hey... Um... Are you mad at me for what happened at lunch?" He queried,

"I am not mad... I simply thought you were a better person," She answered, shrugging,

"I am! I'm not the one who tripped Kole up, remember?"

"Yes but you still laughed... Just like everyone else..."

"I had to go along with it, Kori..."

"Mm..."

Dick shocked her by grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to look at him. Her eyes widened suddenly at his unexpected actions, "Look, I'm sorry about laughing and I'm sorry that I didn't say anything or help her..." He apologized,

Kori stared into his crystal eyes. His expression was so serious and she couldn't understand why it mattered so much to him. She laughed slightly, "Why does it matter so much?" She asked, gently touching his hands that were on her shoulders,

"Because... I don't want you to think I'm a jerk... I just get caught up in it sometimes..." He admitted,

Kori crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, "I know... I apologize also... I believe I was simply angry that no one else was willing to help Kole... I believe I saw you and immediately placed blame."

Dick released Kori's shoulders and he faintly smiled, "Was she okay?" He wondered,

Kori nodded, "She was shaken up from the humiliation but we stayed with her through the remainder of lunch and then Garfield walked her to History class."

Dick nodded slowly and watched Kori as she brushed some of her hair behind her ear, "And... I do not think you are a jerk..." She confessed, causing Dick to smile.

She giggled and tapped the books that were spread out upon her bed, indicating that he should start getting focused, "Now, circumference and diameter," She noted,

Dick groaned but smirked when she put her glasses on. She had said to him once before that she didn't like wearing her glasses because she thought she looked like a _true_ geek but, Dick honestly thought that she looked adorable with glasses. He shook his head and looked down at the page Kori was pointing at.

After two hours of talking about circumference and diameter, Dick and Kori had decided to relax a little bit and were watching a movie. Normally, Dick hated any gushy type of movies but he sat through it because Kori seemed to have her eyes glued to the screen. He watched her facial expression change during the movie and he couldn't hold back his smile. He found it strange that he had begun to fall for a girl like her. Usually, he was half attracted to fake girls who were plastered in makeup. However, he had never actually felt strongly about any girl in the past until now. Kori was different. She wasn't the stereotypical match for a guy like him. Usually, someone like him would be expected to date a cheerleader or something. Kori was beautiful and insanely smart and Dick got along with her like they had been friends for years.

Suddenly, Kori turned to face him which caused him to gulp, "May I ask you something?" She queried,

"Yeah, of course," He replied,

"When my mother called you "Richard"... You corrected her by telling her to call you "Dick"..." She paused and sat up a little, "But... You have never corrected me..."

Dick swallowed the lump in his throat. How was he supposed to explain this to her without blurting out how he felt about her?

"Oh... Yeah... I don't know how to explain it but when you called me by my proper name... It just sounded normal but when anyone else has in the past, I didn't feel comfortable with it..." He admitted,

Kori smiled, "I see... Why do you not like most people calling you "Richard"?"

Dick cast his eyes downward, "Well... My mom was always the one to call me that. I mean, she never called me by the shortened version and after she died, I got really defensive when other people would call me "Richard"."

"So, it is special to you,"

Dick nodded. Kori hesitated before she looked into his eyes, "May I ask... What happened to your parents?"

Dick stared back at her and Kori thought she might have overstepped the line by asking such a personal question. She opened her mouth to retract her question but Dick beat her to speaking,

"Well... When I was a kid, I was part of a family trapeze act with my mom and dad at Haly's Circus..." He paused, "And one day... Uh... This rough kind of guy came in, demanding that we pay him protection money and stuff... When the owner refused him, we thought y'know, that'd be it but on opening night in Gotham..."

He took a moment to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat. Kori gently touched his arm to somewhat reassure him,

"My family were the most popular act and people were always amazed because we did the act without a safety net... My parents were midway through the performance and I was about to join it when the wires snapped..." He continued,

"Richard..." Kori whispered, "I am so sorry..."

Dick gave her a ghost of a smile, "It got better after that... I mean, Bruce adopted me and I later made friends with Wally so... Y'know..." He finished,

Kori could still sense his deep sorrow about his experience. She leaned forward and embraced him closely. Dick was taken aback at first but was quick to return the hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair.

"If it helps... I understand how you feel..." She told him.

Dick turned his head on her shoulder slightly so she would expand on her statement,

"I lost my father to a car accident 4 years ago..." She murmured,

Dick raised his eyebrows in surprise. When he had met Galfore, he had just assumed that Kori's parents were divorced. He held her tighter,

"I'm sorry too, Kori," He returned. Kori sighed and briefly smiled at his sign of condolence for her own loss. They remained like that for a while; simply hugging each other. It was an action that meant more to them however; it was a way of sharing sympathy for each other...


	9. Chapter 9

Dick sighed as he stared up at the ceiling. He was lying on his bed and he didn't really know what to do with his time. It was Wednesday and Kori didn't tutor him on Wednesdays. He was quite bored without her by his side, explaining mathematical methods to him. He glanced at his phone quickly to see the time. **18:12pm**

He considered something for a moment and grinned as he sat up and slipped his feet into his shoes. He stood up and grabbed his car keys, phone and his bag. He decided to do his homework at the diner. That way, he could be doing something productive, whilst being near Kori which meant he could ask her if he needed help too.

He put his jacket on and started walking down the hallway. He jogged down the stairs and headed out the door. Dick proceeded to get into his car and he placed his bag on the passenger's seat.

Dick pulled into the car park of the diner and leaned over to grab his bag from the seat beside him. He pulled his bag onto his shoulder and got out of the car. He strolled up to the doors of the diner and entered the building.

As soon as he stepped inside, the smell of delicious food filled his senses. The diner was set accordingly to the traditional appearance of red and silver seats with black marble counters. The walls were an off white colour that was made more intriguing with the use of paintings and a pink neon clock.

Dick smirked as he caught sight of Kori behind the counter. She was leaning away with her back to him but he would know the long red hair from anywhere.

He continued walking until he came to a booth in the corner of the diner. He slid in and set his bag aside for a moment. He rummaged through it and brought out some of the things he was required to do for homework.

Kori finished scrapping old lists with people's orders on them and tossed them all into the trashcan beside her. She sighed and reached behind her to tighten the strings on her apron. Kori continued to blow her hair out of her eyes and turned around to face the counter. One of her fellow waitress' known as Donna Troy walked past with dirty plates in her hand. She nodded to Kori in order to get her attention,

"Kori, there's a guy in the far booth that hasn't been served yet," Donna informed her,

Kori nodded and grabbed her notepad. As she wandered around the side of the counter, she slowed as she saw the customer. She smiled as she continued to walk over to him.

Dick grinned back at her in return and sat up straight, placing his hands on the table,

"Richard... What are you doing here?" She asked, giggling,

"I was bored... And I was hungry and I needed to do homework so I thought... Diner!" He answered,

Kori rolled her eyes playfully, "Are you actually going to do any homework?"

"I'm going to _try_. But, I can't promise you anything,"

Kori softly smiled as she pulled the notepad out of her apron and the pen from behind her ear, "What can I get for you?"

"Pfttt, bacon burger with fries and a chocolate milkshake, please Kor."

"Mm... Very healthy choices,"

"Well y'know... I'm watching the weight and everything..."

Kori laughed and nodded to him as she turned away. She ambled back behind the counter where she passed the order on to the chef through the small window linking the two rooms together.

As she spun round, she almost jumped out of her skin to see Rachel staring at her uncertainly. Of course, Rachel was Kori's best friend but she was able to frighten her more than anyone else in the world sometimes.

"What was all that about?" Rachel questioned, folding her arms over her chest,

"Wh-What do you mean?" Kori retorted, trying to hide her panic about being seen with Dick,

"Since when are you best buddies with Dick Grayson?"

"I am not... I was simply being friendly."

"Uh huh... Right..."

Kori rolled her eyes and shook her head at Rachel. The dark girl suddenly nodded towards the main part of the diner. Kori followed her glance and shrugged,

"What?" Kori queried,

"Tables need cleaning, Kor," Rachel told her,

Kori laughed, "Can you not clean them?"

"No... You see, my arm really hurts and-"

Kori put her hands up, "Alright, alright."

Rachel smirked, "Thanks."

Kori nodded sarcastically and sauntered over to the tables. She sighed at the mess on one of the tables. She picked up the trays and emptied them into the nearby trashcan. Why was it so hard for people to empty their trays?

She inwardly groaned and put the trays on top of the trashcan. She went back to the tables and ran the damp cloth over the surfaces repeatedly, making sure she had cleaned them properly.

Suddenly, she heard the ding of the bell in the kitchen. The chef poked his head out and eyed Kori, "Order up, Kori!" He called.

Kori nodded and made her way over to the small window. She retrieved the tray from the chef and began to make her way back over to Dick who looked very happy about his food arriving.

Rachel watched Kori carefully. Normally, Kori would have just given a customer their food and left to do something else. However, she stood and talked and laughed with Dick Grayson for a long time. Rachel raised an eyebrow at her best friend's behaviour. She wondered why Kori had suddenly taken a liking to Dick when two weeks ago, they had been gossiping about how they hated the popular kids at their school.

She briefly turned her attention to the diner doors as they opened and Garfield strolled inside. He calmly leaned across the counter and gave Rachel a quick kiss on the cheek,

"Hey Rae," He greeted, taking a seat on a stool,

"Huh? Yeah... Hi..." Rachel replied, her attention still on Dick and Kori,

"Something got your eye?"

Rachel finally turned to Garfield, "You know how Kori has been acting differently lately?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, I think it has something to do with Dick Grayson..."

"What!? But... Kori doesn't mix with popular kids..."

"That's what I thought but seriously... She's been talking and laughing with him since he sat down in the booth,"

Garfield glanced over at Kori and shrugged, "Interrogate her later."

Rachel nodded at his suggestion.

And that is exactly what Rachel did. As soon as Dick had left the diner, Rachel and Garfield had narrowed their eyes on their friend in suspicion. Kori walked over to the counter to join them and immediately froze when she saw them staring at her.

She laughed nervously, "Wh-What?"

"Nothing... Just wondering how long you've been friends with Dick Grayson for is all..." Garfield stated,

"I am not friends with him..." Kori lied,

"Then how do you explain the talking and laughing?" Rachel pushed, leaning forward on the counter.

Kori gulped, "I already told you. I was just being-"

"Say, Kor? What was it you said you've been doing in your spare time recently?" Garfield questioned,

"I have been raising my grade so that-"

"Are you sure it has nothing to do with Dick Grayson?" Rachel interjected,

"Of course not-"

"You can tell us if it does, Kori. We won't judge you or anything..." Garfield told her.

Kori sighed, "Stop... Stop interrogating me already..."

"So...?" Rachel urged, earning a look from Kori.

Kori crossed her arms and leaned on the counter, "Mrs Bliss asked me to start tutoring him for maths because he is failing the class. Mr Wilson told him that if he didn't raise his grade to at least a C by the end of semester test, he will be stripped of his soccer captain title and kicked off the team." Kori sucked in a breath, "So, I agreed to tutor him and he is paying me for it..."

Rachel and Garfield exchanged glances, "He's that bad at maths? Even I'm not that bad at maths!" Garfield claimed, earning an uncertain expression from Rachel.

Kori smiled, "He is getting a lot better at it, actually..."

"Is there anything else about it that you want to tell us?" Rachel queried, feeling that Kori wasn't finished explaining,

"Well... We have truly begun to grow as friends and that makes me happy... But..." She trailed off,

"But what?" Rachel prompted,

"I am scared... I think I like him... A lot more than that of a friend..." Kori admitted, failing to hide her blush,

"Falling for a popular kid?" Garfield cringed, "That's never good territory, Kori,"

"I know... I do not want to like him..." Kori sighed, "But it cannot be helped... He truly is very sweet and I get along really well with him, too..."

"That's a good thing then, isn't it?" Rachel wondered, not completely understanding the problem,

"Well... Yes but... He is so concerned with how other people see him that he refrains from letting anyone know of our friendship..." Kori confessed,

"So, he doesn't want anyone to know that he's friends with a 'geek'?" Rachel assumed, crossing her arms over her chest a little tighter.

Kori flinched at the offensive word and nodded, "So... That seemingly rules out any type of further relationship with him... Does it not?"

With that, Kori picked up the cloth on the counter and wandered into the kitchen. Rachel and Garfield were shocked at her secret but more so felt sympathy for her. She wanted _more_ with Dick but that looked like a pipe dream; something that would **never** happen...


	10. Chapter 10

The next couple of days passed by quickly and Friday afternoon soon arrived. Dick had just got home from soccer practice and he was happy about it too as he noticed it had started to lash down with rain. He dropped his bag as he stepped into his room and he pulled off his kit. He grabbed a towel and headed into the bathroom.

He always hated the aftermath of practice. He was sweaty and covered in mud and it felt like he had literally been thrown into the woods for a couple of days. He sighed and got into the shower.

As the warm water sprayed over him, he closed his eyes and smiled. He had always loved the feeling of water against his skin. It was an odd sensation to describe but it helped him to feel calmer.

His mind began to wander and he couldn't help but think of Kori. He didn't know what he was supposed to do about the way he felt about her. Of course he wanted to tell her and he honestly wanted her to be his girlfriend but... He cared a lot about how other people viewed him and he wished he didn't but... He did.

Dick washed the conditioner out of his hair and shook his head to get his wet hair out of his face. He suddenly thought of Kori again. Where was she? Usually, Kori would show up at the Manor before he was even home. He turned the water off and stepped out of the shower.

He grabbed the towel and dried his hair with it before he wrapped it around his waist. He walked over to his bed and grabbed his phone. He had no texts or calls from Kori. He hesitated as he thought of calling her. He couldn't help but grow concerned for her well-being.

Dick sighed and patted his body dry with the towel before he found some comfy clothing in his drawers and changed into them. Feeling refreshed, he exhaled and jogged downstairs and into the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and took a sip before he heard the doorbell go.

He strolled over to the door and opened it. His eyes widened at the sight of Kori.

She was completely soaked through. Her hair was drenched and hung like rope over her shoulders and her clothes were baggy on her as they had soaked up so much rain. Her face was pale and he assumed her hands were icy cold.

"Kor, you're freezing and completely soaked!" He stated, bringing her inside quickly,

"I-I am s-so s-sorry about th-the m-mess..." Kori stuttered, staring at the puddles that were being created due to her dripping clothes. Dick looked her over and closed the door.

"Don't be stupid, Kori! I don't care about the mess; let's get you dried off," He returned.

He took her jacket off of her and hung it over the back of a dining chair considering that it was the clothing article that had the most rain weight. He then took her hand in his and led her upstairs.

Kori glanced at their hands and blushed. However, she enjoyed the feeling of his skin against hers. He was warm which was perfect for her considerably low temperature.

Once they got into Dick's room he let go of her hand and took a step back, "Wait here," He told her,

"O-Okay..." Kori replied whilst Dick left for a moment.

When he returned, he had a white towel in his hands. Kori smiled in comfort as Dick wandered behind her and wrapped the towel around her. It was a towel that had recently been taken out of the dryer because it was warm.

"Any better?" Dick asked, rubbing her arms attentively,

"Mhm... Th-Thank you..." Kori answered, the stutter portraying itself less than before. Dick flashed her a smile and turned away to his closet,

"Well, we've definitely gotta get you out of those clothes," He stated, looking through his clothes.

Kori couldn't help but blush at the way he had worded it. For a moment, she couldn't tear her gaze away from him. He was so considerate and sweet which made Kori become slightly weak.

Dick turned back around to face her with some articles of clothing in his hands. Kori took them from him and gave him an awkward smile. He blushed as he realised that he needed to leave so she could change into his clothes.

"Oh! Uh... I'll go... Set the dryer up for your clothes," Dick informed her,

"Thank you," Kori returned in a hushed tone. Dick nodded to her and left promptly.

Kori stood still for a moment but shook her head and glanced at the boys clothes in her hands. She walked over to Dick's door and closed it. She proceeded to shrug the warm towel from her body and she watched as it fell to the floor.

She stepped back to where she was stood and stripped out of her wet clothes. Kori looked down at the clothes she had now placed on Dick's bed. She wasn't sure why, but she blushed a deep red when she thought of wearing his clothes. She shrugged and decided that she needed _something_ to wear after all.

Kori pulled on Dick's white t-shirt which was _way_ too big on her so much that it hung off of her shoulder considerably. She then pulled on the dark sweats that Dick had given her. She giggled quietly at how spacious they were around her slim legs. Finally, she slipped on the black socks that Dick had left for her. They fitted fine.

Slowly, Kori hugged herself to feel the material against her skin. She softly smiled as she faintly inhaled Dick's scent from the clothes. She then set about picking up her drenched clothes and the warm towel.

She enthusiastically hopped up onto Dick's bed and allowed her legs to dangle over the edge. She wriggled her toes in the socks in a childish manner as she waited for Dick to come back.

After a moment, there was a light knock at the door. Kori gave into a small smile. It was nice to know that he had enough manners as not to just walk in.

"Kori? Um... Are you done changing?" He queried,

"I am, Richard. You may come in," She permitted, getting to her feet.

Dick walked in and didn't try to stop the smile he gave into at the sight of her. She looked great in his clothes. There was a mix of cuteness and general appeal in how she looked.

Kori laughed and twirled slightly for him, showing him how baggy his clothes were on her, "Richard, I believe your clothes could fit a giant..." She told him.

Dick chuckled and took the wet clothes from her, "What can I say, I like my stuff baggy." He paused, "And you're tiny,"

Kori playfully punched his arm before he left once again to go and put her stuff into the dryer down the hall. She turned and climbed back onto his bed. She leaned over and grabbed her bag and retrieved the all too familiar maths textbooks. She opened them to specific pages and spread them out upon the bed.

Dick groaned as he came back into the room and noticed the text books laid out across the bed. Kori shot him a look and watched him as he took a seat beside her,

"What's on the agenda today, Kor?" Dick wondered,

"We shall be looking further at fractions," She returned,

"Fun," Dick stated, sarcastically.

He watched Kori as she started explaining simple facts and methods to completing fractions but he was more so focused on when she grabbed a hair band from her wrist and pulled her hair up into a messy bun, leaving her bangs and side pieces of hair down to frame her delicate face.

It was somewhat bad that he was continuing to fall in love with Kori. It was strange but he liked the feelings he experienced when he was around her. But it was almost like he couldn't stop himself anymore from noticing the little things she did such as tying her hair up.

He smiled and shook his head and returned his attention to what Kori was trying to teach him...


	11. Chapter 11

Kori strolled up to the doors of the manor as she had done so many other days now. She had barely lifted her foot onto the first step leading up to the front door when Dick suddenly came out.

"Oh... Hello, Richard," She laughed, confused by his meeting her outside the door.

"Hey," He replied, zipping up the front of his jacket,

Kori sensed that he was not in a good mood. She furrowed her eyebrows in concern,

"Is... Everything okay?" She asked, looking up at him carefully.

Dick looked at her for a moment with a straight face. He calmly walked away from the door and gently took her hand in his as he continued to walk towards the gates of the manor.

"Richard? You are scaring me slightly," Kori informed him, causing him to stop and look at her with a soft expression,

"Um... Is it okay to skip the session today? I just... Need to be out of the manor at the moment. I was hoping we could just hang out somewhere." He explained,

Kori absorbed the fact that he was really distraught about something. She nodded, "Of course..." She paused, "Are you not worried about someone seeing us together?"

Dick shook his head, "I know a place that no one else knows about."

Kori accepted that and they continued to wander through the gates of the manor. After a short while of walking, they came to the entrance of a forest. Kori raised her eyebrow. He was right. _She had no idea where they were or where they were headed._

They stepped carefully through the woods, with the occasional cracking of a twig beneath their feet. Kori glanced at their intertwined hands and blushed lightly. He had not let go of her hand since they left the manor.

Kori was concerned for the boy leading her. She rarely saw him being so serious and it was a strange thing to witness. She didn't know if he was going to tell her what had happened but she was somewhat flattered. He could have chosen anyone to be with him whilst he was going through an array of emotions and yet, he decided to traipse through the forest with her.

Suddenly, Kori narrowed her eyes as she noticed a clearing of sorts ahead of them. It wasn't like a forest clearing however as she could have sworn she saw water washing up against the ground they would soon be stepping on.

They reached the end of the forest and Kori's mouth fell open. The dark and humid forest had led them to the most beautiful corner of a beach that Kori had ever seen. As the sun had started to lower, the sky had taken on a mixed colouring of pink and purple which caused the atmosphere to become serene. The sand was smooth and there was absolutely no sign of any pebbles as far as she could see and the sea was a clear turquoise colour. For a moment, she thought she was back in Tameran; it seemed _that_ exotic.

"Richard... This place is beautiful..." She breathed as her eyes drank up the sight in front of her.

Dick gave into the smallest of smiles but even that was brief, "Yeah... I used to explore a lot when Bruce first adopted me and I wound up finding this place."

"How are you so certain that no one else knows of this place?"

"Trust me... No one else knows about it. There is a serious lack of people around here who are willing to trek through the forest without a goal to reach."

Kori nodded and they sat down on the sand together. Kori felt a falter in her heart as he released her hand but she did not waver. She wanted to know if he was alright.

She glanced at him subtly. His eyebrows were crossed and he was glaring at the ocean before them. His jaw was visibly set and she was somewhat afraid to say anything to him in case he yelled at her. So, they remained in an uncomfortable silence for the next 5 minutes.

Kori gave into a sigh and tested her luck. She shuffled closer to him and playfully nudged him, "Richard... Has something happened?" She asked, "You seem very... Distant?"

Dick allowed his expression to calm and he turned to Kori with a tired look on his face, "I'm sorry, Kor..." He exhaled, "It's just... Well, I was arguing with Bruce. I wanted to get away from the manor to clear my head and... I knew being around you would help that."

Kori involuntarily smiled at his comment. She genuinely felt her heart melt at his words. Did he really feel that she aided him in feeling calmer? Out of reflex, Kori touched his arm.

"Do not apologize... I am happy to help you in any way that I can." Kori told him, "Do you wish to talk about it?"

Dick nodded slowly. Kori crossed her legs and sat up straight, showing him that he had all of her attention,

"I don't even know how it started... He was talking about how I don't act responsibly and how I should act my age and... I just lost it. I mean, what the hell does that even mean? It's like what we talked about... He expects me to suddenly act like an adult but... He's never been a great role model. He's hardly even around to teach me _how_ to be an adult." Dick clarified, earning small nods from Kori to show that she understood.

"Why is it so difficult for adults to understand that it doesn't work that way? Hell, they were all teenagers at one point; they should understand that 18 year olds make mistakes! Actually, everyone makes mistakes... Ugh... I'm sorry about this, Kori..."

"It is fine, Richard. I would rather you explain it to me than you doing something reckless or dangerous even..."

In a quick motion, Dick had his arms wrapped around Kori's waist and it was clear that he was hugging her. Kori immediately rested her head against him and her hands slid around his shoulders to return the eager hug.

Although Kori wished to be there for him, she was having a tough time trying to push away her feelings for Dick. She had been attempting to tell herself that her feelings were nothing; that they were temporary but they just kept getting stronger. Every time she spoke to Dick, her heartbeat sped up and her stomach did somersaults.

Dick pulled away from her and heavily exhaled. He smiled in a calm manner and brushed some of her hair behind her ear, something that she didn't try to object to.

"Thanks for listening to me rant, Kor..." He mumbled,

"That is okay... However, I must input my thoughts. Although I understand how you are feeling, I do not believe Bruce does it intentionally... Of course, there is stress that comes with being an adult also... Perhaps, he just lashed out at you due to how he was feeling..." Kori suggested, softly,

Dick nodded, "Mm... I guess so... I'll try and talk about it with him when I get back,"

Kori smiled, "I think that is a smart idea,"

"Sorry about skipping the session today. I'll still pay you for it-"

Kori giggled, "Richard, it is fine... I did not exactly feel like teaching you methods of trigonometry anyway,"

Dick chuckled, "Are you okay? I mean, I'm here complaining about my life but... Is everything alright with you?"

Kori gazed at him with a glimmer in her eye. How could she have judged someone so much without knowing them? This boy sitting in front of her; the one she had assumed was a self centred, spoilt brat was truly one of the sweetest and most considerate people she had ever met. She knew he had issues about being like this in front of other people but she couldn't understand why. She was beginning to fully accept that she was in love with this boy.

He may act like a complete jerk when he is in front of a crowd but Kori felt privileged to know this version of him; the _real_ Richard Grayson.

She shook her head and smiled, "No... Everything with me is wonderful. I have no complaints."

Dick grinned and nodded. Suddenly, his phone burst into life and began ringing. Kori signalled for him to take it.

He noticed the caller ID was Wally so he answered, "Hello?"

"Hey man!" Wally replied,

"What's up?"

"Where are you!? There's a party at Roy's and its fudgin' awesome!"

"Sounds fun, I guess,"

"Are you gonna come!? He's starting to let people in the pool!"

Dick paused in answering as he looked over at Kori who was drawing in the sand with a stick that had been lying beside her. He smiled softly,

"I'm gonna have to pass man. Hope you have fun," Dick stated, ending the call before Wally could try and coax him into going,

"You know... You can go... I would not mind-" Kori began,

"No, but I would mind... Sides, I'd honestly rather be here with you than at a party..." Dick returned,

Kori raised an eyebrow at him, "Have I broken you or something?" She laughed. Dick joined in but shook his head. He glanced over at a small sketchbook that was edging its way out of Kori's bag. He nodded towards it, "Can I see some of your artwork?" He hoped,

Kori followed his eyes and blushed, self consciously. She grabbed the sketchbook and held it close to her chest. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, "They are not very good..."

"I'll be the judge of that,"

He playfully put his hand out for the sketchbook. She sighed and handed it to him. Dick smiled and opened it up. There were loads of different scenes in the book; all of which were sketched of still life. He raked his eyes over a drawing of her sister sitting on the sofa with her phone, a drawing of her brother playing video games with his tongue poking out in concentration, a pair of hands, variations of realistic eyes...

He came to a drawing that made him smirk. It was a sketch of the school cafeteria with an array of students within it. He had wondered why Kori and her friends had sat in the corner of the cafeteria; now it seemed to make sense. This way, Kori could get a good perspective of everyone around her.

"Am I drawn in this one?" He asked, flashing a lopsided grin,

Kori scrunched up her face in an adorable way to suppress a smirk, "Yes..." She mumbled. She pointed to a dark haired character on the paper with her slender index finger.

"Hey; that's pretty good, Kor..." He chuckled, looking closer at the drawing, "Actually... It's amazing..."

"Thank you..." She giggled. Dick turned to her but bit his lip.

Kori could sense he wanted to ask her something but she wasn't sure if she was prepared for what he was going to ask.

"What...?" Kori prompted,

"Do you think you could draw me?" He wondered,

"Now?"

"Mhm..."

"I could try... It may prove to be very interesting..."

Dick chuckled and sat back. Kori shook her head and reached into her bag and brought out a pencil with a sharp tip. She flipped the pages until she had a fresh page. She rolled her shoulders slightly and cleared her throat.

"Okay... I need you to relax your face," Kori informed him.

Dick did as he was told and watched as Kori put her pencil to paper. For the entire time that she was sketching him, his eyes never left her. She was unbelievably captivating and his feelings for her caused him to hold a serious face. It wasn't a joke anymore or something to get flustered about. He loved this adorably geeky girl in front of him. Now, he just needed to get over his fear of social differences in front of other people and pluck up the courage to tell her how he felt...


	12. Chapter 12

Kori grimaced at the weather outside as she sat cross legged on her bed, while Dick finished some Pythagoras questions that she had written out for him. The rain was coming down hard and was pelting the windows.

She turned back to face Dick who was also staring out of the window. She cleared her throat, "Are you finished?" She asked,

"Oh, yeah... Here," He returned, handing her the sheet with his answers scribbled down. Kori cast her eyes over the answers to assess them initially. She lifted her pen to start marking the answers but a loud clap of thunder and a bright flash of lightning caused her to gasp and look out of the window once again,

"Oh... I was meaning to ask you, Richard... How are things with Bruce? Did you speak to him about how you were feeling?" Kori queried, keeping her eyes trained on the paper.

"Things are a little bit better with him. I talked to him and he understood how I was feeling and we kinda promised not to be a pain to each other if we could help it." He chuckled. He had decided to spend a little more time at Kori's house for the tutoring sessions so that he and Bruce could have some space, just to calm things even more.

Kori smiled, "Well that is-" She was cut off as the wind picked up and violently shook the trees that were outside of Kori's window.

"Whoa! What is up with the weather tonight?" Dick questioned, startled by the aggressive weather patterns occurring outside.

"It seems like the beginning of a hurricane or something..." She answered, turning her attention back to Dick's answers whilst he got up and wandered over to her window.

Dick rested his palms against the window sill and his eyes widened as he looked out, "Oh my god... Kor, c'mere!" He instructed, beckoning her over with a wave of his hand. Kori set the work aside and joined him at the window and mirrored his shocked expression.

Not only was the rain lashing it down; it had managed to build up a somewhat river upon Kori's street that caused the ground to be almost invisible. The wind had seemingly caused some damage down the street as they witnessed dents in the garage doors of other houses, presumably from other objects being lifted and thrown. Kori gulped as she saw a small tree that had clearly fallen in the park after being struck by lightning.

Kori turned away and lightly tugged on Dick's arm, signalling him to follow her. She and Dick strolled out of her room and hurried downstairs to where the rest of her family were all huddled around the TV.

"What is happening outside?" Kori asked anyone who was listening,

"Biggest storm Gotham has seen since 2003," Galfore replied, shaking his head at the weather.

"Oh! Kom, turn that up, please," Luna ordered, noticing the news had come onto the TV. Kom did as she was told and sat up with the remote in her hand. She turned the volume up and Dick and Kori stepped into the room a little more to focus on the broadcast,

"Yes, this storm doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. It is predicted that the storm will rage through the night into the early hours of tomorrow. We are advising people to stay inside, do not risk leaving any buildings and keep all pets and children away from windows. We also advise that people board up the windows and doors in case of flooding or general property damage. Stay safe. Back to you, Kenny." The reporter explained,

Something suddenly occurred to Dick and he turned to Kori, "How am I gonna get home?" He fretted. Kori's eyebrows knitted together as she understood his predicament. Before she could answer, Galfore beat her to it,

"I would listen to the newscast, lad. I don't think it'd be safe for you to travel out there on foot and especially not in a car." Galfore suggested,

"What should I-" Luna cut him off,

"Well, you could stay here the night, Dick. Of course, you would have to sleep on the sofa. I wouldn't permit you sleeping in with Kori," Luna told him.

Kori's eyes widened at her mother and she screwed up her face in embarrassment. Her cheeks tinged pink and she sighed. Dick smirked at her frustration,

"Of course, Mrs Anders..." Dick paused, "But... Would that really be okay with you? I don't wanna be a burden or anything."

"Nonsense! You are more than welcome to stay here! It is safer than attempting to travel home," Luna informed him,

"Thank you," Dick smiled, nodding slightly to her and Galfore, "Would it be okay to use your phone to call my father? My phone isn't getting any reception,"

"Of course. It's in the kitchen," Galfore told him. Dick nodded his thanks and wandered into the kitchen to call Bruce.

Kori huffed and crossed her arms over her chest before turning to her mother and Galfore, "Why are you so embarrassing?" She groaned.

Luna and Galfore laughed as they passed her. Her mother softly kissed her forehead, "Goodnight my daughter... Make sure you stay away from the windows." She bid her, before wandering upstairs. Galfore followed in suit and ruffled Kori's hair playfully.

Kori turned to her brother and sister who were getting to their feet too, "Are you also going to bed?" She wondered,

"I'm gonna try and get a connection to team up with a friend in China so we can kill some zombie butt." Ryan cheered, running up the stairs,

"Charming." Kori muttered. She glanced up and noticed her sister staring at her with a sly smirk, "What?"

"Where have you been hiding your boyfriend?" Kom grinned,

"He is not my boyfriend. He is simply a friend that I am tutoring for maths."

"Yeah... Okay..."

"It is the truth."

"So, you don't like him... At all?"

"Well..."

"Aha! I knew it!"

Kori rolled her eyes as Kom wandered past her, briefly patting her shoulder,

"Have fun, little sister... But, not too much fun of course..." Kom giggled,

"Kom!" Kori hissed, watching her sister climb up the stairs. She rolled her eyes and sat on the sofa. She let her head fall back and began to relax a little, until she heard footsteps approaching. She opened her eyes and watched Dick appear confused at the sudden lack of people in the main room,

"Did I scare your family away?" He asked, sitting beside her on the sofa.

She giggled, "No, they have simply gone to bed."

Dick nodded, "I know your mom said not to spend the night with each other but... D'you feel like staying down here with me for a while?"

Kori smirked, "Scared, are we?"

"Pft, no. I just thought company might be nice in a storm,"

Kori smiled at him and nodded in agreement. She leaned forward slightly and pulled the bottom of the sofa out to reveal a drawer full of blankets and a couple of spare pillows. She grabbed a light blue blanket and a pillow for Dick and handed them to him.

"Thanks," He commented, placing the pillow behind his back and the blanket over his lap. Once Kori sat back, he smiled a little and placed the blanket over her lap too. She gave him a small smile and they sat back and watched TV together.

After a couple of hours of watching TV and talking about casual topics, Kori had fallen asleep. Her head rested against Dick's shoulder and at first, he didn't know how to react. But, he couldn't deny that he enjoyed the feeling of being so close to her. He smiled and rested his hand on her forearm whilst leaning against her head too. Her scent was intoxicating; she smelled like strawberries which pretty much mirrored her personality. She was sweet and he couldn't help but think of the similarities in colour. Strawberries were red like her cheeks... The majority of the time. He didn't mind her constant blushing though; he thought it was cute.

Absentmindedly, Dick snuggled against Kori; savouring the alone time he currently had with her.

The following morning, Kori's eyes fluttered as she adjusted to the sunlight that was filtering through the small gap between the curtains. She yawned and slowly sat up. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she noticed she was on the opposite sofa to Dick. She glanced over at him before she got to her feet and shuffled over to him. She rested a hand on his shoulder and gently shook him until he woke with a start,

"Huh? What?" He paused and stretched his arms above his head, "Oh, hey Kor,"

"What... Why am I down here?" She asked, tilting her head,

"Oh, you were watching TV with me and fell asleep. I thought it might look inappropriate to your mom and Galfore... So, I moved you over to that sofa,"

"That was a... Smart move," Kori replied, "Thank you."

Dick grinned at her as she timidly smiled and blushed,

"Do you wish to have breakfast?" She asked,

"That depends. Are you gonna join me for breakfast?" He returned, smirking,

"Of course, I- Wait. What time is it!?"

"Uh... 6:40am,"

Kori squeaked and frantically got up and sprinted up the stairs. Dick watched her and was beyond confused, "Is that a no to breakfast?" He called,

A couple of minutes passed before Kori was back downstairs in her uniform. Dick realised why she had freaked out, "Oh, I forgot you were working today," He stated, watching her as she stood in front of the mirror.

She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail and groaned, "Ugh! I cannot believe this! I have to walk and I am going to be _so_ late; I am certain of it!" Kori panicked,

Dick stood up and was somewhat glad that he was still dressed in his clothes from the day before, "It's cool, Kor. I'll just drive you." Dick offered.

Kori gasped and spun around to face him. She suddenly got very close to him and rested her hands against his chest, "Truly?" She asked, hope in her eyes,

"Y-Yeah... Of course," He replied, slightly scared that he was going to give into a blush,

"Oh!" Kori chirped, clapping her hands, "Thank you! You will help me so very much!"

Dick smiled at how bubbly she was. He rolled his shoulders and tilted his head at her, "Are you ready?"

Kori nodded and they headed out the door. Dick got into the car and threw his bag onto the backseat. He waited for Kori to get in and pressed his foot on the acceleration.

Dick was happy about no other cars being out on the quiet roads yet as he sped up in order to get Kori to work on time.

When they reached the car park, Kori noticed she still had roughly 10 minutes before she was due to walk through the doors of the diner. She sighed in relief and simply sat back in the passenger's seat for a moment.

She reached out a hand and touched Dick's arm, "Thank you," She whispered. Dick chuckled and got out of the car with Kori following swiftly behind him.

Kori had already told Dick that Rachel and Garfield knew about their little deal. She expected him to be a little bit angry but he was fine with it. He understood that their sudden behaviour around one another may have raised questions among her friends, especially as they were at the diner a lot.

They wandered through the doors of the diner and they separated... But only for a moment. Dick took a seat at the counter. He watched Kori as she pulled an apron off of the hook and placed it around her waist. He could see that she was struggling to tie it so he beckoned her to him. He spun her around so that her back was to him. He pulled the strings tightly around her tiny waist and tied a small bow. Kori turned back around to face him and flashed him an adorable smile, "Thank you," She commented,

Dick nodded and suddenly remembered something, "Oh! What are we doing about Sunday?" He queried,

"Oh yes. I was meant to suggest this to you... I was thinking about having an extra session together on Sunday so you are prepared for the test the following morning."

"That sounds cool. Uh... Did you wanna just spend the whole day together? Then we get loads of stuff in."

"That is a good idea,"

Dick nodded. Kori suddenly looked up at a customer who had raised their hand, signalling that they were ready to order something. She glanced back at Dick and nodded to him, "Excuse me," She said, quietly.

Kori pulled the small notepad from her apron as she wandered over to the customer who was sitting at a table. Dick stared at her as she moved and felt a pang of sadness.

He didn't want their time together to end but he had a feeling that as soon as Monday was over, they would go back to blanking each other. He hated the thought of not speaking to Kori everyday but at the same time, he didn't feel confident enough to admit his feelings for her in front of his friends or his 'clique'. He felt conflicted, to say the least...


	13. Chapter 13

Sunday rolled on quickly and both Dick and Kori were lounging upon Dick's bed. They had been dodging between hanging out and studying for the entire day. Dick felt that he had benefitted from the day however; they had gone over a lot of the topics that he had the most trouble with. The afternoon was pulling into early evening quickly and their enthusiasm for studying was completely vanishing.

"Koriiiii!" He sang, "I'm bored! Can we take a break?"

"Richard... We are already taking a break..." Kori returned, keeping her eyes closed,

He sat up suddenly, "Well... I'm in the mood for milkshakes."

Kori slowly sat up and laughed, "What?"

"Come on! It'll be fun!" Dick paused and pulled Kori to her feet by her hand, "Sides, we have one of the most amazing blenders downstairs. It's like Alfred's baby."

Kori giggled and followed him out of the room as he led her down to the kitchen. She glanced around the foyer with curiosity,

"Where are the other members of your household by the way?" Kori wondered, knowing none of the other males had been in the manor for the whole day.

"Well, Bruce is on a business trip in Russia and he always takes Alfred with him on the trips. Tim is on some kind of weekend school trip til Monday. And, Jason is... Somewhere. He doesn't really hang out at the manor... Ever." Dick responded, stopping in front of the counter.

Dick grabbed vanilla ice-cream, milk and a couple bars of chocolate down from the cupboard. Kori watched as he placed all of the ingredients into the blender. He put the lid onto the blender and flipped the switch. Kori watched the blender like a child. She was fascinated by the way everything swirled together and made everything liquefied.

Dick chuckled and after a minute, he flipped the switch to stop the blender. He took the lid off and poured the concoction into two tall glasses. Kori moved to take her glass but Dick put up a hand to stop her. She raised an eyebrow at him and stared as he retrieved two straws from the cupboard.

Kori giggled and sucked at the pink straw. The taste of chocolate filled her mouth and she smiled in response to the taste. It was creamy and sweet and not at all sickly.

"Richard, this is very good," Kori complimented,

Dick grinned, "I know. I got a lot of practice in last winter. I was sick and there wasn't a lot to do while I was off from school."

Kori smiled at his explanation. Together, they began to wander around the manor. Kori suddenly remembered one part of the manor that she had been dying to get a closer look at since she first walked in.

"Richard... Do you have a library?" She asked,

"Yeah... It's just round here," He responded, turning a corner. Dick pushed the double glass doors open that revealed the beautiful library.

Kori was stunned by the library. There were thousands of books upon shelves that were so high; they reached the ceiling. She looked out over the small balcony that overlooked the foyer and gasped. It was an amazing room. It was decorated in such an elegant way.

"Hey, grab some books, Kor. I'm sure you're bound to get bored while I try and finish up that practice paper." Dick advised, earning a quick nod from Kori.

She browsed through the genres of books and found a romance, a mystery and an adventure based novel. She turned to Dick and grinned like a child who had just received exactly what they wanted for Christmas.

"Alright, geek... Let's go," Dick chuckled, earning a playful shove from Kori.

They wandered back to Dick's room and Kori carefully placed the books she had chosen on the bed. She placed her milkshake on the bedside table and sat upon the bed in a cross legged position.

Dick mirrored Kori's actions exactly. He sat opposite her and picked up his practice paper with a deep sigh. Kori smirked but said nothing. She picked up the mystery novel and opened it up to begin reading.

For two hours, Dick sat and went through the two practice papers on his bed. He checked his answers before he turned to Kori, "Hey Kori, I-" He stopped and smiled as he noticed Kori was asleep. Her hair was sprawled over the bed and the book was still in her hands.

He gently touched her arm and shook her. She woke up with a start, "Kor, it's just me." He whispered,

Kori rubbed her eyes and sat up slowly, "Did... Did I fall asleep?" She asked, yawning,

"Yeah..." He paused, "Shows how interesting the book was."

Kori giggled and flipped some of her hair over her shoulder. He cleared his throat and waved the practice papers in front of her.

"I finished them," He told her,

She smiled, "Good. I shall grade them in a moment."

"Well... It's about 6:30pm... What shall we eat, Anders?"

Kori tapped her chin in thought, "Shall I go and collect the takeout menus from downstairs?"

"If you would be so kind."

Kori grinned as she threw her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. She ambled out the door in search of the menus.

Dick smiled and shook his head. They had grown so close over the last few weeks and he honestly couldn't regret the fact that he struggled with maths. It had been the thing to bring them together after all.

A couple of minutes later, Kori returned with an array of takeout menus. There was Chinese food, Pizza, Indian food and even sushi. Kori displayed them in her hands like she was the glamorous assistant on a game show which caused Dick to chuckle.

Kori laid on her stomach upon the bed as they tried to decide between Chinese food and Pizza. Kori chewed her lip in thought. Dick groaned as he felt torn.

"I never realised how hard it was to choose between cuisines." Kori stated, resting her chin in her hands.

"I know right... Pft! I know! We'll get both!" Dick decided,

Kori stared at him and raised an eyebrow, "Both?" She paused, "Richard... The delivery people will think we are really overweight!"

Dick chuckled, "Whatever, Kor... Sides, I've got enough cash for both."

Kori smirked, "Silly rich boy,"

Dick poked his tongue out playfully, "You're just jealous,"

"That reminds me... I require my tutoring payment once I learn you have earned a C at the end of tomorrow."

"You'll get it, red."

Kori giggled, "Go and order the food and I shall begin grading your practice papers."

Dick nodded and grabbed his phone before wandering just outside of the room. Kori was still trying to convince herself that she felt nothing for Dick but she knew it was pointless. Her heart damn near exploded every time she saw him so she had a good idea that the feelings weren't going to disappear so easily.

She grabbed her red and green pens and opened the first page of the practice paper. Kori swiftly started marking the correct answers and it wasn't long until she was circling his final score on the front page of each. She was so proud of Dick. His practice paper scores were shockingly wonderful.

Dick yawned as he wandered back into the room. He fell onto the bed and groaned, "Ugh. Studying makes me tired!" He mumbled, "So, what were my scores?"

Kori sat on her knees and gazed at him for a moment, "I feel so successful in the tutoring of you!"

Dick sat up and gazed back at her, "They were good?"

"On paper A, you got 75/80 and on paper B, you got 78/80!"

"No way! I've never got that high before!"

"Let us just hope that you do this well in tomorrow's test."

Dick shook his head, "You little genius! You're the best teacher!" He chuckled. He leaned forward and softly kissed Kori's cheek. She touched the spot with her fingertips and smiled at him,

"I haven't been thanking you enough, Kori. Seriously... You've helped me so much." He told her, taking her hands in his,

"You... You are welcome, Richard," Kori stuttered, feeling her heart race,

"So..." He paused, "Which food do you think will come first?"

Kori giggled, "I hope the pizza does..."

Dick smirked at her as they heard the doorbell ring out. The two of them jumped off of the bed and sprinted downstairs.

After they had eaten, they resumed their positions on Dick's bed. Dick groaned as he rubbed his stomach, "I hate feeling this full..." He moaned,

Kori laughed, "Poor you,"

Dick smirked, "Out of everything in life, what do you hate?"

"Kitten... Spiders... Clowns... Tickling-"

Dick burst out laughing, "Why do you hate tickling?"

"I cry from laughing so much,"

Dick had a mischievous glint in his eye, "Oh really?"

Kori's eyes widened in realisation, "No!"

"Too late!"

Dick attacked Kori and tickled her sides which caused her to squeal and thrash. Kori laughed loudly and felt herself getting closer to crying. She desperately tried to still Dick's hands by placing her own over them,

"No! Please... Stop!" She half laughed, half screamed.

Dick chuckled and decided to let up on his playful attack. As they both sobered, they became acutely aware of the short distance between their faces. Kori allowed her eyes to focus on Dick's lips. Their breathing became deeper and more obvious to each other.

Kori and Dick slowly leaned in and soon enough, their lips were against each others. Kori closed her eyes in bliss as she felt Dick hold her cheek so that their lips remained in contact. Kori expected the kiss to be soft which it was at first but as it progressed, the heat between them heightened. Their tongues battled for dominance as their passionate display deepened.

Kori felt bold. She tugged on Dick's shirt, signalling that she wanted it to come off. Dick broke the kiss for a brief moment and pulled his shirt over his head and threw it into the corner of his room. Kori ran her fingers over his toned physique and smirked up at him. She got up onto her knees and brought him into another kiss. Dick smiled against her lips and pulled her overall shirt off of her and threw it on the floor. He proceeded to softly rub her arms whilst holding her close to him.

Dick ran his hands beneath her vest top and rested them on her waist. Kori giggled and pulled away to take her vest top off which was then thrown amongst the rest of the clothing on the floor. They were quick to remove their jeans and they dropped them on the ground too. Kori laid back and smiled at Dick who was leaning over her. He gently pushed some of her hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. Up until then, it had been a very passionate experience with little affection; Dick decided to change that with his small gesture.

Dick peppered his kisses against her lips and tugged on her bra strap slightly, "Can this come off?" He asked, earning a nod from Kori.

His hands found the clasp of her bra and released it. Dick removed the material from her chest and gulped whilst he stared at her assets. Kori blushed and pulled his chin forwards so his eyes were melding with hers,

"Beautiful," He whispered. Kori smiled and kissed him sweetly whilst Dick absentmindedly stroked her long, auburn hair...


	14. Chapter 14

The air was bitterly cold when Kori stirred from her sleep. She opened her eyes and glanced around, confused at first about where she was. She shivered beneath the sheets and remembered that she wasn't wearing any clothes. With that in mind, she suddenly remembered everything that happened the previous night.

She smiled. Dick had been so gentle and delicate with her; like she was some kind of porcelain doll that he didn't want to break. Her smile began to waver until it turned into a sad frown.

Although Kori had feelings for Dick and had enjoyed what they did the night before, she didn't want to let herself fall for the boy. She began to think how she was _just_ another girl for him; that she didn't mean anything. Kori didn't want to let herself be so naive in believing that they had any kind of romantic future together. She swallowed the lump in her throat and felt tears prick her eyes. She shook her head and prayed that Dick was still sound asleep. She sighed and tried to convince herself that their actions were just a mistake. It was nothing.

With that, Kori bit her lip and silently slid out from beneath the sheets. She carefully turned to see Dick sleeping with his mouth open and his arms above his head against the pillows. For a moment, she couldn't believe that she was attracted to him. She smiled at his dishevelled appearance. She shook her head and exhaled deeply.

She searched for her clothes that were sprawled all over the floor. She tiptoed around Dick's room and collected different pieces of clothing. She pulled on her underwear, her bra, her jeans and her vest top whilst tying the overall shirt around her waist. She combed her fingers through her hair whilst she picked up her phone. _5:36am_.

Kori glanced over at Dick before she grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. The least she could do was leave him a note, to explain some things that she didn't have to guts to say in person.

After she finished scribbling down her message, she stood up straight and grabbed her shoes and her jacket. She carefully tiptoed around the bed and made it to the door.  
She gulped as she cast one more look at Dick. She felt a tear trail down her cheek. She had been fighting so hard not to cry but the aftermath caused her to be unbelievably upset. She desperately wanted to be with Dick but she knew that could never happen. Kori had come to realise that Dick cared about his social status too much to ever let anything publicly happen between them. She decided she simply had to accept it.

With that, Kori opened the door and left.

Dick's eyes shot open and he was met with a chill in the air. He groaned and pulled the sheets around him a little tighter. He wasn't sure why but he felt a pang of concern; like something was wrong. He grabbed his phone and checked the time. _6:13am_

He yawned and remembered the night before. With a fond grin, he turned and made a move to wrap his arm around Kori but he felt nothing. He patted the cold space beside him and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Dick sat up and scanned his room, "Kori?" He paused, "Kor?"

He caught sight of the note on the bedside table and reached over to take it. He felt his breathing quicken as he noticed Kori's handwriting.

 _Richard,  
I understand that last night was a very foolish mistake. I believe it happened for an array of reasons, yes? We were both very tired and emotional... It was late and we were both experiencing stress for the test this morning. I believe it will be easy to act as though it never happened because we will both go back to the way things were before the tutoring began. We shall remain distant from each other and act as though we never met. I believe this will be best.  
Good luck on the test. I know you will do well.  
\- Kori_

Dick dropped the note without realising. He couldn't process how he was feeling. Mostly, he felt his heart drop when he read the words on the note. He had never felt so strongly about a girl before and he didn't want to just end things with a note. He was going to find Kori and he was going to talk to her about how they felt and what they did. Dick wasn't going to let this slide without trying to make things right. He threw back the covers and started to get dressed for school.

Dick sighed as he wandered through the hallways of the school. He hadn't seen Kori yet and they were taking the test in less than 2 minutes. He suddenly spotted her by the lockers and started to walk over to her but of course, the universe had other ideas.

The bell rang out and Dick cringed at the irritating noise. When he turned back to Kori, she was gone and there were students beginning to crowd. He growled and headed for maths class.

As he reached the door, he stared at Kori who was sitting in her usual seat with her hands folded neatly upon the desk. She refused to look at him, even when he gently brushed past her to sit in his seat which was situated diagonally from her.

He felt hurt that she wouldn't even acknowledge him. However, he assumed that she was just going by what she said in the note. She was going back to the way things were before the tutoring began.

Dick continued to gaze at Kori who was trying hard to fight the urge of turning around to him and kissing and hugging him. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes as the other students in her class began to file in.

"Alright, class. Today, you'll be taking the end of semester test. I expect _a lot_ of you to get good score on this." Mrs Bliss announced, eyeing Dick momentarily.

With that, the teacher handed out the question booklets and pieces of lined paper. She stared at the clock for a moment before turning to the class, "You may begin now," She stated.

The students simultaneously began opening up the question packs and scribbling down their answers and methods. Kori kept her head down the entire time to stay focused and to not give in to looking at Dick. She knew if she even glimpsed at him, she would crack.

Dick on the other hand was spending more time staring at Kori than his test. He just wanted to hold her for a brief moment. He missed her even though she was just a few seats away from him. But he missed her in the sense that she was trying to close off any friendship that they had and he didn't want that to happen.

The time ticked away and soon enough, it was time to hand their answers in. Dick finished the very last question and gulped. As consumed as he was in his situation with Kori, he was so nervous about his test results. He **needed** to get at least a C to stay on the soccer team. Being on the team was the one thing that he could do correctly.

For the first time, Kori was one of the first students to leave the classroom. Dick watched her and frowned. He desperately wanted to talk to her and if that meant spending the day stalking her when he could, so be it.

Wally slapped a hand against Dick's shoulder which brought him out of his thoughts, "Dude! You wanna head to the diner during our free?" He asked,

Dick shook his head, "Uh... No thanks,"

"Man, what's up with you recently? You don't ever wanna hang out."

"I just have some things on my mind. I'll catch up with you later,"

Vic and Wally shrugged and left the classroom. Dick followed suit but turned in the opposite direction.

The rest of the day went by painfully slowly. Kori was avoiding Dick at every chance she got. It's not that she didn't want to speak to him; it was that she couldn't. She knew that the moment he stared into her eyes, her resolve would shatter and she'd be vulnerable due to her feelings for him. She didn't want that. She was avoiding him to spare her own feelings.

Kori wandered across the soccer field aimlessly. She didn't feel like going home just yet but she also didn't want to be around the rest of the students. She sighed as she moved.  
The test results had been posted on the board outside of the classroom about half an hour ago but Kori couldn't care less about her own grade. She assumed that she had got an A as per usual. She really hoped Dick's grade was acceptable but she was slightly concerned because she hadn't received a call or text from him to confirm it.

Suddenly, Kori heard her name being shouted from across the field. She spun around and she felt her heartbeat increase at the sight of him. Dick was running over to her and was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Kori! I got a B!" He exclaimed as he got closer to her,

Kori momentarily forgot about everything. She felt ecstatic about his results. Kori felt so proud of him, "You did!?" She replied, smiling widely,

Dick hugged her and spun her around slightly, "Yeah, thanks to you!" He chuckled, setting her down on her feet again. She giggled and they gazed at each other for a moment. Kori knew they had to talk about the night before one way or another.

"Look Kori, about last night-" Dick was cut off as he noticed his friends wandering towards him. Forgetting himself, he took a step away from Kori.

She followed his eyes and realised why he had changed so suddenly. She frowned and her shoulders slumped. She should have known that he was still cautious about being around her in public.

"Didn't know you were friends with the waitress from the diner, Dick," Vic mentioned, flashing a friendly smile at Kori who returned it but still felt like a complete outsider.

"Uh..." Dick paused and looked at Kori. She knew that this was going to go one of two ways. She tried to urge him to tell the truth by staring at him with her jade eyes, "I- I don't really know her... I just borrowed a pen from her, y'know?"

They all nodded to him in response. Karen shrugged, "Well, we're heading to the diner to eat. Are you coming with us?" She asked,

"Uh... Yeah, I'll catch up." Dick returned, watching his friends as they turned away and left.

He sighed and turned back to Kori. He shook his head as she had started to walk off in the opposite direction. The guilt of what he just did immediately set in.

He jogged up behind her and gently took her arm. She jerked away from him in an angry manner. He continued to trail after her and tried to salvage their friendship,

"Kori, I'm sorry-" He started,

"I do not care." Kori bit out but Dick could hear the shakiness in her voice,

"Kori-"

Kori spun around to face him and her chest was heaving where her emotions were building up at an erratic pace. Dick felt his expression turn sad as he noticed the tears that were sliding down her rosy cheeks, "Look. You received the grade that you needed. The tutoring is finished. I simply need the money and then we can go our separate ways." She hissed, keeping her eyes downcast.

Dick swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared carefully at her. His shoulders slumped and he brought the money out of his bag. He had been keeping it all together to give to her at the end of the tutoring sessions. He handed it over to her and she slowly put it into her bag,

"Thank you." She whispered.

With that, Kori spun around and continued walking away from him. Dick followed her as he heard her sniffling.

"Kori, I'm sorry." He paused, "I only acted like that because they wouldn't understand! They'd ruin things-"

Kori twisted around to glare at him. Her face was tearstained and she was visibly distraught. Dick wanted nothing more than to brush her hair away from her face and kiss her to make everything okay.

"They did not have to... You already did..." Kori cried.

Dick stopped following her after she said that. He felt terrible. He was completely in love with Kori and yet he had succeeded in ruining things with her. He sighed and bit his lip to stop himself from giving into his emotions. He shook his head and turned in the opposite direction of Kori. He wasn't going to the diner. He didn't want to see or talk to anyone. He just wanted to go home...


	15. Chapter 15

Kori flipped the page of the novel she was reading but was barely interested in it. She glanced out the window at the sun as it slowly lowered from the sky. It was the night of prom and all across the area, there were teenagers getting ready; boys with smart tuxes and girls with long beautiful gowns. Kori had been excited for it but after her argument with Dick, she had lost all enthusiasm for doing _anything_.

It was Friday now and Kori hadn't talked to Dick since Monday. She looked down at her phone as it began to vibrate. It was Dick calling... Again. She sighed and pressed the 'decline' button. She had been dodging his calls for the entire week. She didn't want to hear his excuses. At this point, she didn't see what he could say to make things okay again. He clearly didn't feel strongly enough about her to admit it in public so Kori didn't see the point in trying.

Kori gave up on trying to entertain herself with the book in her hands so she closed it and set it aside. She drew her knees up to her chin and rested her head against them, keeping her eyes trained on the peaceful sky outside of her window.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps hurrying up the stairs. She turned to look at her door and watched as Garfield and Rachel strolled in. Kori gave them a faint smile.

Garfield looked very handsome in his sleek tux alongside Rachel who was wearing a beautiful dress. It was a dark blue colour and reached the floor in length. It had small pieces cut out at Rachel's sides to reveal her pale skin. The straps with a good thickness and portrayed her shape perfectly.

"You both look wonderful," Kori told them. Rachel placed her hands on her hips and stared at Kori,

"You don't. Why aren't you dressed?" Rachel returned,

"I told you. I am not going..." Kori replied, quietly. Rachel's expression softened and she sat on Kori's bed, by her feet. She rested a hand against Kori's knee and caused Kori to look up at her,

"Kori... I know that Dick screwed you over but... You can't let that stop you from enjoying yourself,"

"It is not that... I just... I do not wish to feel anything for him anymore. Seeing him will make the feelings stronger, will it not?"

"Yes but... It's something you have to get over. I know that sounds harsh but it's the truth and you know it."

Kori made a muffled sound of protest,

"Come on, Kor. It'll be fun! Sides... I bet Dick will be kicking himself when he sees how amazing you look in your dress," Garfield added, resting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

Kori smiled slightly at their attempts to get her feeling a little bit better. She gave in to an exaggerated sigh, "Fine... But, I may take some time." She informed them,

"It's fine. When are we ever on time to things like this? Really?" Garfield challenged, causing Kori to giggle.

She moved slightly and brought them both into a hug, "You truly are my best friends... You know this, yes?"

Garfield and Rachel hugged the red headed girl back instantly, "Of course we know that, Kori." Rachel replied, "After all, you're our best friend too."

Kori smiled and released them. She got to her feet and set about getting ready for the prom. She pulled her changing screen across at the back of her room so that she had some privacy to get dressed. She was thankful that she also had a mirror at the back of her room so that she could apply her makeup and do her hair.

Rachel and Garfield sat on Kori's bed and talked about Kori's situation with Dick quietly. Rachel sighed, "I don't think he did it on purpose..."

"It seems like something a popular kid like him would do on purpose." Garfield huffed,

"It does but Dick doesn't seem to be like the other popular kids. I've seen the way he looks at Kori and the way they interact with each other. He wasn't faking any feelings, Gar... I think he's just afraid to admit them in case he gets judged."

"But if he cares about Kori that much, he shouldn't care about what anyone else thinks."

"Well, yes but-"

Rachel stopped talking abruptly as Kori had apparently finished getting ready. Rachel and Garfield smiled as their friend stepped out from behind the screen.

Kori was wearing a long dark jade coloured dress that swept across the floor when she moved. The cut across her chest was strapless and was in a subtle sweetheart style. The chest area was somewhat layered material and looked very elegant. The last amendment to the dress was a thin line of diamonds that ran just beneath Kori's bust. She wore a thin silver necklace and a pair of matching dangling earrings that made her look sophisticated. Finally, her hair was styled into loose curls that had been pulled over her right shoulder and secured with some pins. Her makeup was light and rather natural as usual.

"You look beautiful, Kori," Rachel complimented, giving her a rare smile,

"Thank you," Kori responded,

"Like I said... He's gonna be kicking himself," Garfield chuckled, earning a small smirk from Kori. They all filed out of Kori's room and took a few pictures before they left for the prom.

Dick absentmindedly chugged back another cup of punch. He had only attended the prom in hopes that Kori would be there. He had tried contacting her the entire week and to no avail had he succeeded. He knew he had been a complete jerk by acting the way he did but he just wanted to talk to her and at least attempt to make things better. He hated having to endure the days without Kori's presence after school.

He yawned and felt the urge to go home until someone caught his eye. He smiled as he watched Kori walk into the gymnasium that was decked out in a colour scheme of purple and gold. Dick stared at her for a moment and drank up her appearance. She looked absolutely stunning. He wanted nothing more than to go up to her and tell her exactly that but, he had a feeling that she might punch him in the face or something.

He sighed as she walked in the opposite direction of where he was standing. He came to the conclusion that he was never going to be able to make things up to her if he continued to fear other peoples' opinions.

"I knew it," Wally chuckled, causing Dick to jump slightly. He hadn't even realised that Wally had been standing behind him.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Dick replied, gulping,

"Dude, it's so obvious that you like Kori."

"Pft! No I don't..."

"Dick, do you really think you're that good at being discreet? I've seen you and her together over the past 3 weeks. I've been past the diner so many times and seen you laughing together and I even stopped by the manor a couple times and Alfred told me you were with her."

Dick sighed, "Why didn't you tell me that you knew?"

"I wanted to see if you were serious about her and... I wasn't sure after the other day when you pretended not to know her."

Dick felt ashamed at the mere mention of it,

"But now that I see you staring at her... It's painfully clear that you're crazy about her."

"It's too late."

"Why is it?"

"She's been ignoring me since Monday... I don't know what to do..."

"Dick... Why are you being awkward about this?"

"I just... I'm worried about what people will say-"

"Dude, do you love her?"

Dick smiled slightly, "Of course I do,"

"Then why the hell do you care what other people think?

Dick stared at Wally for a long moment. He almost burst out laughing on the spot. Of all people, it was Wally who had made him see sense. Of course he shouldn't care; he loved Kori more than he could express and anyone who had a problem with that could go to hell for all Dick cared.

Dick smirked at his best friend, "You're right..." He chuckled,

"Duh!" Wally paused and placed a hand on Dick's shoulder, "It's your move, Grayson. Make things right."

Dick nodded but stayed still for a moment as he considered ways in which to show Kori that he really did have feelings for her. An idea struck him and he grinned.

Rachel groaned as the band on stage continued to play the upbeat music, "I hate this music." She complained,

"You're so Goth; I love it." Garfield chuckled, earning a light punch from his dark girlfriend. Kori stared at the two of them and smiled fondly.

Suddenly, the band stopped playing and Rachel perked up a bit. Someone tapped the mic and succeeded in getting the room's attention.

"Achem... Uh, excuse me?" The voice said through the mic.

Kori's eyes widened and her head snapped up at the sound of Dick's voice. Rachel raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest,

"This ought to be interesting," Garfield sniggered,

"What is your _student_ doing?" Rachel whispered to Kori who was completely taken aback. All Kori did in response was slowly shake her head in a confused manner.

 _What was he doing?_ Kori never really thought of Dick as much of a public speaker so this was definitely a new thing. She stepped to the side slightly so that she was practically in front of him, among the crowd of course. She stared at his face. He seemed nervous and she couldn't explain why but that in itself caused her to feel nervous,

"Uh... Okay... I really need to say something... So, there's this girl. She was tutoring me in maths for a while and I didn't think much of it at first but boy, was I wrong... Uh, can I get a spotlight on Kori Anders? She's like... Right over there." Dick explained, pointing to where Kori was.

The bright light hit Kori suddenly and she scrunched up her face and put her hand up to the light. She soon adjusted to the lighting assault and lowered her hand.

As Kori regained the ability to see, she noticed that the crowd had become dead silent and had all dispersed so that there was a clear path between her and Dick. She gulped. She had never been the centre of attention so this was a very frightening concept for her. Her hands got sweaty and she could feel her heart going crazy inside of her chest.

Dick smiled as he noticed her terrified expression. Now, he spoke directly to her, "Kori... I've been a complete and utter jerk in the last few weeks. I honestly don't know why you've put up with me but you have because you're sweet and caring and kind..." He paused and sucked in a breath, reading himself for the next part, "And the truth is... I can't stop thinking about you because... I'm _completely_ in love with you."

The crowd burst into a mix of gasps and a chorus of 'Awes' at his confession. Kori even gasped at what he had said and forgot about everyone else in the room. She swallowed the lump in her throat and fought back the tears that were stinging her eyes. She was moved by what he had said so far and the tears were threatening to spill.

"I know I've been pushing you away in front of other people but... That was stupid. I don't care what anyone else thinks because I... I just want to be with you... Everyday... All the time..." He continued, allowing his eyes to rest on the gorgeous girl merely metres away from him.

Kori felt her heart flutter at his public declaration and out of nowhere; she suddenly got a burst of confidence. She smirked whilst crossing her arms over her chest and eyed him carefully,

"Well... Wh-What are you going to do about it?" She queried, loudly,

Dick chuckled and grinned at her. In a swift motion, he jumped down from the stage and marched up to her. He picked her up by the waist and pulled her to him.

Kori closed her eyes as Dick crushed his lips against hers and held her closely to him. She smirked briefly as she heard the roar of the students cheering for them. She was pretty sure that she could hear Karen and Jenny crying too, like they were watching a deeply romantic movie.

Kori kissed Dick for as long as she could whilst running her fingers through his dark hair. Finally, they both needed to breath. Dick released her lips and set her down on her feet, gently.

Dick's arms remained securely around Kori's waist. Now that he had her, he didn't intend on letting her go. Kori's arms rested around his shoulders whilst they simply gazed at each other, their eyes fusing together in a harmonious manner.

Dick rested his forehead against Kori's but kept his eyes on her at all times. Kori smiled a little, "For what is it worth... I love you also..." Kori whispered,

Dick exhaled deeply, "Thank God for that." He commented, glad that he hadn't just expressed himself for no reason. Kori giggled and played with the hair on the back of his neck,

"You are stupid..." Kori said in a hushed tone, shaking her head at his actions over the past few weeks,

"I know," Dick sighed, closing the distance between them again.

Dick loved kissing Kori. It was like fireworks went off whenever they did. There was always an aura of passion but it was overruled by tender love for one another. Dick ran his fingers through Kori's curled auburn hair. How thankful he was for being terrible at maths. He could not stress that enough to himself...


End file.
